Astrodynamics Commons^™

Incorporation Of Trajectory Behaviors In The Vicinities Of Different Planetary Moons Using Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent Maps, David Canales Garcia, Kathleen C. Howell, Elena Fantino

PanaSoMM

There is an increasing interest in future space missions devoted to the exploration of key moons in the Solar system. These many different missions may involve libration point orbits as well as trajectories that satisfy different endgames in the vicinities of the moons. To this end, an efficient design strategy to produce low-energy transfers between the vicinities of adjacent moons of a planetary system is introduced that leverages the dynamics in these multi-body systems. Such a design strategy is denoted as the moon-to-moon analytical transfer (MMAT) method. It consists of a general methodology for transfer design between the vicinities of …

Satellite Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis For “Dilution Region” Events: Issues And Operational Approaches, Matthew D. Hejduk

Space Traffic Management Conference

An important activity within Space Traffic Management is the detection and prevention of possible on-orbit collisions between space objects. The principal parameter for assessing collision likelihood is the probability of collision, which is widely accepted among conjunction assessment practitioners; but it possesses a known deficiency in that it can produce a false sense of safety when the orbital position uncertainties for the conjuncting objects are high. The probability of collision is said to be “diluted” in such a situation and to understate the possible risk; certain approaches have been recommended by researchers to provide (largely conservative) risk estimates and remediation …

Space Objects Classification And Characterization Via Deep Learning And Light Curves: Applications To Space Traffic Management, Roberto Furfaro, Richard Linares, Vishnu Reddy

Space Traffic Management Conference

Recent advancements in deep learning (e.g. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Recurrent Neural networks (RNN)) have demonstrated impressive results in many practical and theoretical fields (e.g. speech recognition, computer vision, robotics). Whereas deep learning methods are becoming ubiquitous, they have been barely explored in SSA applications, in particular with regard to object characterization for Space Traffic Management (STM).

In this paper, we report the results obtained in designing and training a set of CNNs and RNNs for Space Object (SO) classification and characterization using light-curve measurements. More specifically, we provide a comparison between deep networks trained on both physically-based models (i.e. …

Near Real Time Satellite Event Detection And Characterization With Remote Photoacoustic Signatures, Justin Spurbeck, Moriba K. Jah

Space Traffic Management Conference

Active satellites frequently maneuver to mitigate conjunctions and maintain nominal mission orbits. With an ever-growing Resident Space Object (RSO) population, the need to detect and predict any changes in active RSO trajectories has become increasingly important. There is typically a lag on the order of hours to days from time of maneuver to unmodeled dynamic event detection depending on the magnitude of the delta-v. For uncooperative objects, this detection lag poses a threat to other satellites. Implementing an active photoacoustic signature change detection methodology to detect and predict unmodeled dynamic events would reduce the overall conjunction risk and provide a …

Julia Language Ephemeris And Physical Constants Reader For Solar System Bodies, Julia Mihaylov, Renee Spear

Undergraduate Research Symposium - Prescott

This presentation was the forerunner a second paper by the authors for the AAS/AIAA conference in January 2019, and is not available for download. For a description of the first presentation, see the authors' Discovery Day 2018 - Presentation.

Publicly released in 2012, the Julia language is a relatively new, open source dynamic language. One major benefit of Julia is its combined capabilities of both dynamic and static coding languages. It nearly matches the computational efficiency of static languages, such as FORTRAN or C, and exceeds that of dynamic languages, such as MATLAB or Python. Additionally, unlike Python, Julia …

Responsible Behavior For Constellations And Clusters, Darren Mcknight, Jonathan Rosenblatt, Darren Garber

Space Traffic Management Conference

Many large constellations are being considered for deployment over the next ten years into low earth orbit (LEO). This paper seeks to quantify the risks that these constellations pose to the debris environment, the risks that the debris environment poses to these constellations, and the risks that these constellations pose to themselves. The three representative constellations examined in detail in this paper are operated (or planned to be operated) by Spire Global, Iridium, and OneWeb. This paper provides a balanced risk analysis including collision risk, operational risk, and non-adherence risk. For perspective, the risk posed by these economically useful constellations …

Solar Eclipse Induced Atmospheric Turbulence Effects On High Altitude Balloons, Fnu Anamika, Denise Buckner, Peter Henson, Jennifer Fowler, Nanette Valentour

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

The North Dakota Atmospheric Education Student Initiated Research (ND-AESIR) team launched a balloon during the total solar eclipse in Rexburg, Idaho. After the umbra’s passage, the balloon experienced unexpectedly high levels of atmospheric turbulence. Video footage taken from the payload displays the conditions, and analysis of flight path data models created from the iridium GPS confirm that unusually violent turbulence occurred. These forces caused the key rings holding the bottom of the parachute to the payload train to rip open; the balloon and parachute flew away and the payloads free fell to the surface from an altitude of 68,301 feet. …

A Novel Approach For Controlled Deorbiting And Reentry Of Small Spacecraft, Larry H. Fineberg, Justin Treptow, Timothy Bass, Scott Clark, Yusef Johnson, Bradley Poffenberger

Space Traffic Management Conference

No abstract provided.

Earth Magnetosphere Model Investigations For Coupled Orbit-Attitude Space Debris Perturbations, Eiji Shibata, Carolin Frueh Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

As more objects are placed into orbit, collisions become increasingly more likely, leading to a so-called Kessler Syndrome: collisions between existing debris creates more debris, causing a cascading effect of larger amounts of debris being put into orbit, even in the absence of launches, making future space fairing difficult or impossible. Natural forces influence the orbit and attitude of uncontrolled debris objects. The natural plasma environment can lead to space object charging. The subsequent orbital movement in the geomagnetosphere induces Lorentz forces that act both on the orbit and attitude of the space object. Those forces have not been investigated …

Suborbital Spaceflight: A Student Team’S Plan To Send A Rocket To Space, Bryce Chanes, William Carpenter, Julio Benavides, Matthew Haslam, Brenda Haven

Aviation / Aeronautics / Aerospace International Research Conference

The Eagle Space Flight Team was created with the goal of becoming the first undergraduate team to design, build, and launch a rocket capable of suborbital spaceflight. In order to achieve this goal, the team will have to design a rocket capable of atmospheric flight at speeds over Mach 5 and launch it on one of the largest amateur rocket motors ever made. Over the next three years, the team will progress towards accomplishing this feat through a series of incremental test flights. Before the space flight, the team will build three sub-scale rockets designed to reach altitudes of 30,000’, …