Nonproliferation and nuclear safeguards activities by agencies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) require the means to ensure that only authorized activities occur during periods when an inspector is not present. Unattended monitoring systems are designed to minimize human resource requirements both during inspection visits and in the period between visits via installation of a primarily automated monitoring system. This system is capable of meeting or exceeding human inspection reliability and consistency. Implementation of an unattended monitoring system should also provide less expensive continuous coverage of the inspected facility over the lifetime of the inspections when compared to the cost of inspector time and travel. Furthermore, a transition to remote monitoring systems, while decreasing cost and time burdens to an inspection agency, simultaneously provides for a unified safeguards approach that is not facility dependent. A second generation of unattended and remote monitoring (UNARM) systems has been developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for use in nuclear fuel cycle facilities. These systems allow for more efficient use of inspection resources and more rigorous coverage of nuclear facilities. These systems incorporate several types of sensors that are capable of low-level intercommunication to enablemore » a comprehensive and multi-layered coverage of facility operations. These systems utilize data from radiation, motion, video, and balanced magnetic switch sensors, for example. When information from all sensors is combined together, an unambiguous reconstruction of facility operations can be assembled.« less
Recently, there has been a large push for university participation in space exploration from organizations such as NASA. But to participate, students and professors must be able to simulate an environment similar to space so they may test the design of their spacecraft. Most university CubeSat programs are targeted toward PhD matters, with some help from undergraduate students. In this paper, we explain a novel approach to design and develop a low-cost platform for testing a CubeSat attitude control system. This platform is developed while keeping a minimal physical footprint within the lab. In addition, all research and development for this testing platform will be performed solely at the undergraduate level. The testing platform was developed with a modest grant from local industries and university support and is being used to perform research on CubeSat attitude determination and controls systems (ADCS). Off the shelf CubeSat ADCS are expensive, but they are a major component of a successful CubeSat design and development. The goal of this paper is to show smaller organizations a way to enter CubeSat research, by offering a low cost, small footprint, frictionless test stand to aid in design and development of CubeSat ADCS [1-3]. The main principle in creating this frictionless test stand will be the physics of an air bearing. By creating a thin cushion of air between the air bearing and the base, a near frictionless environment is achieved [1]. The PI 150mm-diameter hemispherical air bearing was utilized for this, as it has an adequately-sized platform and a load capacity of 160 kg. The air bearing also need a pedestal to be mounted on which was manufactured out of aluminum and then anodized. This pedestal was then bolted to an industrial cart for portability and stability. Then, by utilizing a standard air compressor that can be found at many different hardware stores, the system can be brought online. It is important to note that standard air compressors that are typically used for household purposes are efficient for operation of this system, but can produce undesired noise and vibration. To reduce this, the portable stand was lined with a noise-reducing material. While this adds an extra cost to the test stand, it makes the system quiet and adds extra stability. The completed frictionless test stand offers 360° of freedom on the Z axis and ±45° of freedom on the X and Y axes and has been produced for $7,220. This test stand provides an excellent, low cost, low footprint solution for emulating the frictionless environment of outer space and is ideal for testing rotational motion capabilities of ADCS.
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