LAPLander
Encyclopedia
LAPLander is a prototype of a space probe
primarily intended for measurements in the ionosphere
. The aim for the prototype is to evaluate the flight characteristics, e.g. air braking, of a flight from the border of space. Furthermore, the impact protection and recovery systems will be evaluated. As the name says, the recovery system is based on airbags, that serve both to the deceleration and the impact protection. The future version of LAPLander will make it possible to do multi-point measurements, which will be of great help in research of the complex processes within the ionosphere that contributes to aurora
s and disturbances in satellite communication.
flight from Esrange Space Center
(outside Kiruna
) in March 2010. The rocket is unguided, spin-stabilized and powered by an Improved Orion
motor, which is capable to bring the payload to an apogee
of 100 km, which is the border to space. The event is sponsored by the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) and the German Space Agency (DLR), in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA).
The latter is provided by a cooperation with Cornell University
, New York
, USA. The device to be used is a novel miniature GPS system, that in contrast to a common GPS is able to determine the attitude. This is made by measuring the phase difference from the GPS signal between two antennas.
in Stockholm
.
Overall issues:
Mechanical
and aerodynamical
issues:
Electrical
issues:
Space probe
A robotic spacecraft is a spacecraft with no humans on board, that is usually under telerobotic control. A robotic spacecraft designed to make scientific research measurements is often called a space probe. Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to...
primarily intended for measurements in the ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
. The aim for the prototype is to evaluate the flight characteristics, e.g. air braking, of a flight from the border of space. Furthermore, the impact protection and recovery systems will be evaluated. As the name says, the recovery system is based on airbags, that serve both to the deceleration and the impact protection. The future version of LAPLander will make it possible to do multi-point measurements, which will be of great help in research of the complex processes within the ionosphere that contributes to aurora
Aurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
s and disturbances in satellite communication.
Rexus Flight
LAPLander is selected in the Rexus programme and was launched on a sounding rocketSounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
flight from Esrange Space Center
Esrange
Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...
(outside Kiruna
Kiruna
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...
) in March 2010. The rocket is unguided, spin-stabilized and powered by an Improved Orion
Improved Orion
Improved Orion is the designation of an American sounding rocket. It has a maximum flight altitude of 85 km, a liftoff thrust of 7.00 kN, a total mass of 400 kg, a core diameter of 0.35 m and a total length of 5.60 m....
motor, which is capable to bring the payload to an apogee
Apsis
An apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
of 100 km, which is the border to space. The event is sponsored by the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) and the German Space Agency (DLR), in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA).
Flight Characteristics
In order to reconstruct the flight, LAPLander will record the following parameters:- Three-axis acceleration
- Three-axis rotation rate
- Three-component magnetic field
- Temperature (for various parts of the payload)
- Raw GPS data
The latter is provided by a cooperation with Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA. The device to be used is a novel miniature GPS system, that in contrast to a common GPS is able to determine the attitude. This is made by measuring the phase difference from the GPS signal between two antennas.
Development
The development of LAPlander started in 2008 and took place at the Alfvén Laboratory, Royal Institute of TechnologyRoyal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
The LAPLander team
The team behind this project consists of:Overall issues:
- Dr. Nickolay Ivchenko, Supervisor, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
- Torbjörn Sundberg, Team leader, PhD Student, Sweden
Mechanical
Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
and aerodynamical
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
issues:
- Matias Wartelski, MSc Aerospace Engineering Student, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
- Christian Westlund, MSc Aerospace Engineering Student, Sweden
- Li Xin, MSc Aerospace Engineering Student, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
- Erik Sund, MSc Aerospace Engineering Student, Sweden
- Patrtik Ahlen, MSc Aerospace Engineering Student, Sweden
Electrical
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
issues:
- Malin Gustafsson, MSc Electrical Engineering Student, Sweden
- Joakim Sandström, MSc Electrical Engineering Student, Sweden
- Oliver Neuner, MSc Electrophysics Student, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Christian Jonsson, MSc MechatronicsMechatronicsMechatronics is the combination of mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, control engineering, and systems design engineering in order to design, and manufacture useful products. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering, that is...
Engineering Student, Sweden - Johan Juhlén, MSc MechatronicsMechatronicsMechatronics is the combination of mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, control engineering, and systems design engineering in order to design, and manufacture useful products. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering, that is...
Engineering Student, Sweden - Johan Thelander, MSc MechatronicsMechatronicsMechatronics is the combination of mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, control engineering, and systems design engineering in order to design, and manufacture useful products. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering, that is...
Engineering Student, Sweden - Mattias Hedberg, MSc MechatronicsMechatronicsMechatronics is the combination of mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, control engineering, and systems design engineering in order to design, and manufacture useful products. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering, that is...
Engineering Student, Sweden
External links
- http://www.spp.ee.kth.se/edu/rexus2008 - Official site
- http://kthrocketprobe2010.blogspot.com - Blog written by the LAPLander team (started 2009-03-13)
- http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Education/SEMZ3R05VQF_0.html - Experts select future REXUS/BEXUS experiments
- http://www.rexusbexus.net - REXUS BEXUS - Rocket and Balloon Experiments for University Students