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12

Platform one

June/July 2016 |

Unmanned Systems Technology

SpaceX is pushing the combination of

autonomous space and sea systems with

a second successful landing of part of its

Falcon 9 rocket (writes Nick Flaherty).

The rocket delivered JCSAT-14, a

commercial communications satellite for

Japanese company SKY Perfect JSAT, into

a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) at an

altitude of 35,400 km above the equator.

After separation, the first stage of Falcon

9 successfully landed on the

Of Course

I Still Love You

autonomous ship, which

was stationed 320 km offshore in the

Atlantic Ocean, nine minutes after launch.

The GTO destination of the satellite

required a higher speed for the first

stage, which made the coordination

of the lander and the ship more

challenging. The lander was travelling

at more than 5200 mph when it

separated from the rocket’s upper stage,

compared with about 4000 mph for

previous missions to a lower orbit. It also

Ships’ key role for launchers

Space technology

Taking its lead from the growing market

for USVs in maritime security missions,

both civil and military, Cambridge Pixel

has launched a USVx universal radar

control and display app (writes Peter

Donaldson).

Aimed at vehicle developers and

manufacturers, it provides an integrated

display of radar video, tracks, AIS data,

context maps and NMEA-0183 navigation

data from the vessel along with full

control of radar parameters.

“We have been working with some

key USV developers to make use of our

capability to interface with a wide range

of radar types; we also offer modules for

radar acquisition, processing, tracking,

fusion and recording,” said Cambridge

Pixel’s Mark Saunders.

The user interface is designed for

touchscreens and enables the operator

to perform functions including changing

the range scale, monitoring track reports

and alarms, initiating and deleting tracks

and adjusting parameters such as gain

control and clutter, and interference

processing.

The system can also fuse Automatic

Identification System (AIS) data with radar

tracks and visual contacts. Mission data

stored on the radar data recorder can

be played back through USVx for post-

mission review and analysis.

“With the addition of USVx, we

can now offer a ready-to-run client

application providing clear, maritime-

style presentation of radar video, tracks

and AIS data, alongside our suite of SPx

software, allowing integrators to use just

the modules they require for their specific

solution,” said Saunders.

Components on the USVx include the

radar and navigation system connected

to the SPx server and the AIS linked to an

optional fusion engine which, if fitted, is also

linked to the SPx server.

All are connected to the USVx client

aboard the mothership or shore station by

the data link.

In terms of computing requirements,

server and client need a 2 GHz Intel i5

CPU or better, at least 2 Gbytes of system

RAM and Windows 7, 8, 8.1 or 10.

Radar app breaks surface

USVs

SpaceX achieved the first successful

landing of its re-useable launcher in April

experienced five times as much heating

during its re-entry, said SpaceX.

The position of the ship is carefully

calculated to match the re-entry point

of the lander, and is controlled by the

satellite navigation system to stay within

3 m of the required position, even

under storm conditions. The vessel uses

four diesel-powered hydraulic azimuth

thrusters with a modular controller, all

manufactured by marine equipment

maker Thrustmaster in Texas.

The JCSAT-14 landing followed the

first successful re-use of the rocket stage

in April for the launch of the Dragon

payload to the International Space

Station. That stage landed on the ship.

SpaceX has said that somewhere

between one-half and two-thirds of its

recoveries will need to be at sea, and it

uses another autonomous ship called

Just Read the Instructions

 in the Pacific

Ocean for launches from Vandenberg Air

Force Base in California.