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Astrodynamics Commons

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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Astrodynamics

Modeling And Simulation Of Autonomous Thermal Soaring With Horizon Simulation Framework, Zhenhua Li Dec 2010

Modeling And Simulation Of Autonomous Thermal Soaring With Horizon Simulation Framework, Zhenhua Li

Master's Theses

A thermal is a column of warm rising air triggered by differential heating on the ground. In recent studies UAVs were programmed to exploit this free atmospheric energy from thermals to improve their range and endurance. Researchers had successfully flown UAVs autonomously with thermal soaring method. Most research involved some form of flight simulation. Improvements to the aircraft and thermal models for simulation purpose would enable researchers to better design their UAVs and explore any potential flaws in their designs. An aircraft simulation with a thermal environment was created in Horizon Simulation Framework, a modeling and verification framework that was …


Interplanetary Gravity Assisted Trajectory Optimizer (Igato), Jason Bryan Jun 2010

Interplanetary Gravity Assisted Trajectory Optimizer (Igato), Jason Bryan

Aerospace Engineering

Interplanetary space travel is an extremely complicated endeavor that is severely limited by our current technological advancements. The amount of energy required to transport a spacecraft from one planet to the next, or even further, is extraordinary and in some cases is even impossible given our current propulsive capabilities. Due to these complications, the search for other means of exchanging energy became imperative to future space exploration missions. One particularly powerful method that was discovered, and the most commonly used one, is referred to as planetary gravity assist. In order to plan out multiple gravity assist trajectories, complex and robust …


Senior Project: Global Position Determination From Observed Relative Position Of Celestial Bodies, Michael Holmes Jun 2010

Senior Project: Global Position Determination From Observed Relative Position Of Celestial Bodies, Michael Holmes

Aerospace Engineering

A method was developed to determine the latitude and longitude of an observer based on the observed position of the Moon and several other celestial bodies. The basic principal developed dealt with the proximity of the Moon. Its relative displacement from calculated values was measured using photography by comparison with stars near the Moon. Photographs were taken from a location in San Luis Obispo at Longitude 120°35.9' and Latitude 35°13.3'. The analysis method has determined the location of the observer to a Longitude of 117°43.8'. An additional method located the observer to 36°38.7'N Latitude and 114°47.6'W Longitude.


Attitude Control Of A Satellite Simulator Using Reaction Wheels And A Pid Controller, Ryan E. Snider Mar 2010

Attitude Control Of A Satellite Simulator Using Reaction Wheels And A Pid Controller, Ryan E. Snider

Theses and Dissertations

Attitude requirements of a satellite are determined by its mission: telecommunications, optical imagery, and meteorology to name a few. A satellite's ability to orient its mission critical hardware (solar arrays, attitude sensors, etc.), as well as its mission specific payload, is incumbent upon the performance of the satellite's attitude control system (ACS). For a highly accurate ACS and for moderately fast maneuverability, reaction wheels are preferred because they allow continuous and smooth control while inducing the smallest possible disturbance torques. The objective of this research is to design, build, test, and evaluate the performance of a reaction wheel ACS on-board …


Prototype Development And Dynamic Characterization Of Deployable Cubesat Booms, Grant M. Thomas Mar 2010

Prototype Development And Dynamic Characterization Of Deployable Cubesat Booms, Grant M. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The current barrier to CubeSat proliferation is their lack of utility depth. These small satellites are exceptionally well suited for specific space missions such as space weather observation and other scientific data gathering exploits; however, they are not suited for every mission. The 10cm-cube form factor that gives the CubeSat its unique advantage is also its greatest hindrance. A potential bridge over this gap is the successful integration of deployable booms onto the CubeSat structure. With this research, the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) explored the parameters of deployable tapespring booms using the triangular retractable and collapsible (TRAC) cross- …


Preliminary Electrical Designs For Ctex And Afit Satellite Ground Station, Arthur L. Morse Mar 2010

Preliminary Electrical Designs For Ctex And Afit Satellite Ground Station, Arthur L. Morse

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis outlines the design of the electrical components for the space-based ChromoTomography Experiment (CTEx). CTEx is the next step in the development of high-speed chromotomography at the Air Force Institute of Technology. The electrical design of the system is challenging due to the large amount of data that is acquired by the imager and the limited resources that is inherent with space-based systems. Additional complication to the design is the need to know the angle of a spinning prism that is in the field of view very precisely for each image. Without this precise measurement any scene that is …


Mission Analysis For Multiple Rendezvous Of Near-Earth Asteroids Using Earth Gravity Assist, Uriah J. Tobey Mar 2010

Mission Analysis For Multiple Rendezvous Of Near-Earth Asteroids Using Earth Gravity Assist, Uriah J. Tobey

Theses and Dissertations

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) catalog of near-Earth objects (NEOs) such as asteroids and comets contains over 6600 asteroids and 150 comets as of February of 2010. This includes over 1000 potentially hazardous asteroids, or objects with orbits that pass close enough to Earth to pose a potential impact threat. The asteroid community believes there are a significant number of objects still undiscovered, which makes finding, tracking, and calculating missions to study these objects an active area of research. This study was based on finding orbit solutions using Earth gravity assist to visit one near-Earth object (NEO) a year for …


System Integration And Attitude Control Of A Low-Cost Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator, Ryan L. Kinnett Mar 2010

System Integration And Attitude Control Of A Low-Cost Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator, Ryan L. Kinnett

Master's Theses

The CalPoly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator mimics the rotational dynamics of a spacecraft in orbit and acts as a testbed for spacecraft attitude control system development and demonstration. Prior to this thesis, the simulator platform and several subsystems had been designed and manufactured, but the total simulator system was not yet capable of closed-loop attitude control. Previous attempts to make the system controllable were primarily mired by data transport performance. Rather than exporting data to an external command computer, the strategy implemented in this thesis relies on a compact computer onboard the simulator platform to handle both attitude control processing …


Adaptive Control Applied To The Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator, Matthew C. Downs Feb 2010

Adaptive Control Applied To The Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator, Matthew C. Downs

Master's Theses

The goal of this thesis is to use the Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator to provide proof of concept of two adaptive control theories developed by former Cal Poly students: Nonlinear Direct Model Reference Adaptive Control and Adaptive Output Feedback Control. The Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator is a student-built air bearing spacecraft simulator controlled by four reaction wheels in a pyramidal arrangement. Tests were performed to determine the effectiveness of the two adaptive control theories under nominal operating conditions, a “plug-and-play” spacecraft scenario, and under simulated actuator damage. Proof of concept of the adaptive control theories applied to attitude …