About the Laboratory

Protecting spacecraft on-board electronic equipment against the damaging effects of charging is rather like the philosophical paradox of Achilles and the tortoise. Humankind began to make use of geostationary orbit some fifty years ago. This orbit lies at an altitude of 6.7 Earth radii directly above the equator, and its distinguishing feature is that a spacecraft's angular velocity there matches the angular velocity of the Earth's rotation. A spacecraft in this orbit therefore stays fixed above a chosen point on the Earth's surface – a property that makes the orbit attractive for communications, navigation, military and other satellites. There is only one orbit of this kind, and it holds a great many of them.

As they began to use this orbit, researchers encountered a phenomenon they had not met before: spacecraft charging. Its damaging effects disabled on-board electronic systems very quickly. The struggle against them closely resembles Zeno's paradox of Achilles and the tortoise. One group of scientists develops ways of protecting spacecraft electronics against charging effects, and comes close to success. Another group works on enhancing the functionality of that same electronics through micro- – and now nano- – miniaturisation of its components and through lower power consumption. An unwelcome consequence of the second group's work is that the electronics becomes more sensitive to charging effects. So the first group sets to work again… and again comes close to success, while the second group… Some philosophers hold that Zeno's paradox has still not been strictly resolved.

It can be said with confidence that the problem of making spacecraft electronics resistant to the damaging effects of charging has likewise yet to be solved by any spacefaring nation.

To resolve this problem, HSE MIEM has developed a radiation-induced time-of-flight technique using monoenergetic electron beams in the 1–50 keV range. The technique has substantially extended the experimental study of charge carrier transport in disordered organic systems and has established that in most molecularly doped polymers (MDPs) this transport is in fact non-equilibrium.

This view, which differs from the one previously accepted, has yet to receive full and direct experimental confirmation. Settling the question would open the way to manufacturing precision polymer components for micro- and nanoelectronics, and to solving the problem of making spacecraft electronics resistant to the damaging effects of charging. The problem the Laboratory is addressing is therefore a highly topical one.

The aim of the research carried out at the Laboratory is to determine, through combined experimental and theoretical work, the true mechanism and parameters of charge carrier transport in molecularly doped polymers, and to answer the question of whether that transport is normal (Gaussian) or dispersive (non-Gaussian) – and to what extent each type is present in a given polymer or composite material. This fundamental research is intended to solve the problem of making spacecraft electronics resistant to the damaging effects of charging.

In 2015, two new units were established at the Laboratory: a Mission Control Centre for small spacecraft, with a working group developing hardware and software for space applications, and a Small Spacecraft Design Laboratory equipped with a unique hardware-in-the-loop test bench for developing microsatellites.

The Laboratory's work allows academic staff to involve talented students and early-career lecturers in aerospace projects, and to develop teaching and research partnerships with leading research and education centres abroad.

The Laboratory houses the Terra space environment simulator complex, which is used for experiments with satellite models assembled from the OrbiCraft kit.

The test bench makes it possible to verify the mathematical models developed by Laboratory staff together with their hardware and software implementation, using sensors and control system actuators whose characteristics are close to those of satellite service systems currently in operation and under development. This in turn supports the development of a functional testing methodology for spacecraft.

The aim of the research conducted at the Laboratory's Mission Control Centre is to develop, on the basis of experimental and theoretical work, the hardware and software needed to build and operate HSE University's own satellites. Four spacecraft have been developed at the Laboratory, three of which are currently in orbit:

•    CubeSX-HSE

•    CubeSX-Sirius-HSE

•    CubeSX-HSE-2

•    CubeSX-HSE-3

Work is currently under way on a number of projects: a study of an algorithm for damping angular velocity using magnetorquers; the design of an optimal architecture for an on-board computer, based on an analysis of methods for handling failures caused by the space environment; simulation of spacecraft operation against a pre-loaded flight plan in order to verify correct behaviour; adaptation of the CCSDS data transmission standard for a high-speed transmitter; software for reliability analysis of a small spacecraft mock-up using failure mode, effects and criticality analysis; a hardware and software system for simulating small spacecraft failures; the design of a graphical user interface for the HSE MIEM Mission Control Centre, based on a review of existing mission control centres; and a development concept for the HSE MIEM Mission Control Centre. These projects are carried out by HSE MIEM students enrolled on a range of degree programmes. The project team includes bachelor's, master's and doctoral students. Working in the Laboratory gives students hands-on experience with real space systems and involves them in developing and testing software.