Space Vehicles Commons^™

Evaluating System Usability, Workload Suitability, And User Experience Of Game-Based Virtual Reality In Spaceflight Education And Training, Lana Laskey, Joseph Keebler

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Game-based instruction and immersive virtual reality are enhanced pedagogical methods beneficial in training environments involving complex disciplines, ranging from medical applications to construction engineering technology. This study investigated the use of game-based virtual reality (GBVR) when applied to the complex discipline of spaceflight education and training. As modern society places increasing demand on space-based amenities, the need for proficient satellite operators will also increase, requiring more accessible and more advanced training options. Spaceflight training scenarios, immersed in the GBVR environment, were developed and deployed to university student participants. Multiple validated scales were used to measure the GBVR system regarding three …

Adaptive Analytic Continuation For The State Transition Tensors Of The Two-Body Problem, Tahsinul Haque Tasif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In the past few decades, Kessler syndrome (named after Donald J. Kessler) has become a point of concern in the field of Space Situational Awareness and the future of space missions. It refers to a scenario, where space debris in Earth's orbits collides and creates an exponential increase in space debris numbers leading to more collisions and more debris. In order to handle the resulting challenges like conjunction analysis, tracking, and probability of collisions, the State Transition Matrix (STM) and Tensors (STTs) of the orbit problem play a significant role. In addition, STM and STTs are ubiquitous in spaceflight dynamics, …

Health Management And Adaptive Control Of Distributed Spacecraft Systems, Tatiana Alejandra Gutierrez Martinez

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As the development of challenging missions like on-orbit construction and collaborative inspection that involve multi-spacecraft systems increases, the requirements needed to improve post-failure safety to maintain the mission performance also increases, especially when operating under uncertain conditions. In particular, space missions that involve Distributed Spacecraft Systems (e.g, inspection, repairing, assembling, or deployment of space assets) are susceptible to failures and threats that are detrimental to the overall mission performance. This research applies a distributed Health Management System that uses a bio-inspired mechanism based on the Artificial Immune System coupled with a Support Vector Machine to obtain an optimized health monitoring …

Actively Guided Cansats For Assisting Localization And Mapping In Unstructured And Unknown Environments, Cary Chun, M. Hassan Tanveer

Symposium of Student Scholars

When navigating in unknown and unstructured environments, Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs) can struggle when attempting to preform Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) operations. Particularly challenging circumstance arise when an UAV may need to land or otherwise navigate through treacherous environments. As the primary UAV may be too large and unwieldly to safely investigate in these types of situations, this research effort proposes the use of actively guided CanSats for assisting in localization and mapping of unstructured environments. A complex UAV could carry multiple of these SLAM capable CanSats, and when additional mapping and localization capabilities where required, the CanSat would …

Bringing Science Into The Classroom With Lora Radiotechnology, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Bringing Science Into the Classroom With LoRa Radiotechnology" from November 24, 2022.

Spacecraft Systems & Navigation, Christopher Vanacore

Student Works

This textbook is steered towards higher educational course entailed in Commercial Space Operations. This textbook will be covering in detail Orbital Satellites, and Spacecraft. These topics are discussed according to their application, design, and environment. The power system, shielding and communication systems are reviewed along with their missions, space, environment and limitations. Any vehicle, whether manned or unmanned, intended for space travel is a spacecraft. A spacecraft's required systems and equipment depend on the information it will acquire and the tasks it will perform. Although their levels of sophistication vary widely, they re all subject to the harsh conditions of …

Full Volume 13, Issue 1, Seyma Tufan

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Optimization Of Rover Wheel Geometries For Planetary Missions, Nikita Amberkar

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Rovers have been launched into space for exploration of the Moon and Mars to collect samples of rock and soil. To continue the explorations, the rovers need to have reliable wheels to drive around. However, due to the soil being soft, the wheels on the rover start to lose traction and the wheels sink while driving to various locations. Previous work in this field has been done experimentally or with the use of simulations. Only a few references report the effect of uncertainties in grouser simulation on the traction efficiency. The objective of this work was to (a) Understand the …

Optical Microresonator-Based Flow-Speed Sensor, Elie Ramon Salameh

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

Optical sensors have become more prominent in atmospheric measurement systems, with LiDAR instruments deployed on a variety of earth-bound, air-borne, and space-based platforms. In recent years, the interest in the human exploration of Mars has created a substantial push towards reliable and compact sensing elements for Mars exploration missions, particularly during a spacecraft’s entry, descent, and landing stages. Real-time sensors able to reliably measure the craft’s speed relative to the surrounding atmosphere during these stages are thus of great interest. In this dissertation, a proof-of-concept for an optical microfabricated sensor, which leverages the whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) and Doppler shift principles, is …

Orbital Debris Analysis And Orbital Decay Analysis Of Arksat-2, Will Stuff

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

ARKSAT-2 is a cube satellite developed by the University of Arkansas for its second CubeSat mission. There are two objectives of the ARKSAT-2 mission. The first objective of this mission is to test a novel cold gas thruster propulsion system using water-propylene propellant. This propulsion system will be used for attitude control of the satellite. The second objective for the ARKSAT-2 mission is to test a Solid-State Inflation Balloon (SSIB) that has been designed and developed for this mission. The SSIB is designed to be a simple and cost-effective method for deorbiting the vehicle. In cube satellites, a software known …

A Primer For Designing A Small Spacecraft Mission Operations Architecture, Joseph M. A. Feliciano

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Joseph M. A. Feliciano on April 28, 2022.

Estimating Atmospheric Turbulence Within A Short Exposure Frame Selection Algorithm, Aaron J. Deluca

Theses and Dissertations

Space is becoming an increasingly crowded domain. As it becomes more congested, the ability to accurately detect and track objects, both natural and man-made, becomes more and more important. Having an accurate space surveillance network allows us to protect our own space assets while also maintaining awareness of foreign space assets and threats to our satellites such as debris and small meteorites. This means that the ability to detect small, dim objects is key to being able to protect our space assets. This thesis will seek to expand on and improve certain existing space object detection techniques and algorithms.

A Decision Analysis Framework To Consider Space Congestion In Orbit Selection, Anthony J. Correale

Theses and Dissertations

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is becoming more congested, which increases the risk to space missions. Decision makers will need to consider this increase in congestion as an increased risk within their mission engineering process. This thesis proposes a methodology to create and implement a value structure that quantitatively scores a range of orbits based on congestion factors of each orbit and how well each orbit meets mission requirements. This thesis demonstrates this methodology on a set of circular LEO orbits defined by altitude and inclination, and scores this illustrative scenario based on notional mission measures and expected number of encounters …

A Proposed Mission Assurance Framework For University Cubesat Programs, Mitchell R. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The low cost, small form factor, and use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf components make CubeSats an ideal platform for university use given their unique constraints. Since 2000, roughly 55% of CubeSats developed by universities fail to meet mission goals. Mission assurance, which is used to increase confidence in mission success, is based around traditional government programs, and does not provide an adequate road map for universities. Leaving them without specific guidance in tailoring mission assurance activities to operate within their constraints. This paper adapts these traditional practices to develop a baseline mission assurance framework for university CubeSat programs.

Utilization Of Characteristic Modal Analysis For Antenna Design Needed For An Afit Satellite, Scott C. Podlogar

Theses and Dissertations

Antenna design is a pervasive, growing field for electrical engineers. As the number of new materials and techniques increase so too does the demand and requirements pushing forth new innovative ideas. Among these ideas is a leading edge analytic technique called Characteristic Modal Analysis (CMA) originally credited to Garbacz and Turpin. CMA works to break down the current distribution along a structure in a way that can offer great insights into how that structure operates as an antenna. This technique has great merits in post design analytics but it is rarely seen to be integrated into the design process. This …

The Chime Fast Radio Burst Population Does Not Track The Star Formation History Of The Universe, Rachel C. Zhang, Bing Zhang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

The redshift distribution of fast radio bursts (FRBs) is not well constrained. The association of the Galactic FRB 200428 with the young magnetar SGR 1935+2154 raises the working hypothesis that FRB sources track the star formation history of the universe. The discovery of FRB 20200120E in association with a globular cluster in the nearby galaxy M81, however, casts doubts on such an assumption. We apply the Monte Carlo method developed in a previous work to test different FRB redshift distribution models against the recently released first CHIME FRB catalog in terms of their distributions in specific fluence, external dispersion measure …

Social Representations Of Space Travel, Asli D. A. Tasci, Alan Fyall, Xiaoxiao Fu

Rosen Research Review

Space tourism regularly receives media coverage, but so far, there has been little research around public opinions towards space travel. Dr. Asli D.A. Tasci, Dr. Alan Fyall and Dr. Xiaoxiao Fu from UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management used the Social Representations Theory to investigate public attitudes to space travel and uncover how and why these attitudes are formed. They discovered that commercial space organizations have a strong influence on public opinion, which can be further enhanced if they incorporate more scientific knowledge and evidence.

Modeling And Experimentation Of Buckling Of Composite Deployable Booms Under Bending, Christopher D. Rehberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis presents experimental and finite element analysis results of eccentrically loaded carbon-fiber composite booms that can deploy solar sails. Using the collapsible tubular mast design along with the geometry from the upcoming Advance Composite Solar Sail System mission, short composite booms segments were manufactured for testing. New clamps were also designed to allow a column bending test to achieve eccentric loading. As buckling through eccentric loading has not previously seen much research, the geometry and composite layups were simplified to allow for ease of manufacturing and verification. The work presented here shows that a finite element simulation, using a …

Investigating Ground Interactions Of A Rotocraft Landing Vehicle On Titan, Adam Rozman

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The exploration of celestial bodies has recently advanced from rovers to rotorcraft. This includes the recent flights of Mars Ingenuity and the upcoming Dragonfly mission to explore the terrain of Saturn’s moon Titan as part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program. Flight-based landers can travel quickly to sites kilometers apart and land in complex terrain. Although cruise conditions for these rotorcrafts are well understood, studies are necessary to understand take-off and landing. In ground effect conditions, a rotor wake impinges and reflects off the ground, creating changes in aerodynamics such as increased lift. Additionally, operating over loose surfaces, the rotors can …

Studying The Electrostatic Effects On The Dynamics Of Charged Lunar Dust Via Discrete Element Method, Hao Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Dust problems raise significant concerns in planetary surface exploration. The unusual behavior of the dust particles that surround the vehicle after engine cutoff has the potential to have more of an influence on surface systems than the high velocity lunar rocket plume ejecta in the landing process. A prevailing hypothesis attributes the levitation and transport of dust particles on the surface of airless bodies to the electrostatic effects and electric field. However, there is no accurate model considering the inter-particle electrostatic interactions, especially when the particles are charged by plume. This dissertation aims to understand the behavior of charged lunar …

A Decoupled Engineering Methodology For Accurate Prediction Of Ablative Surface Boundary Conditions In Thermal Protection Systems, Justin Cooper

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The main objective of the present work is to demonstrate a method for prediction of aerothermal environments in the engineering design of hypersonic vehicles as an alternative to the current heritage method. Flat plate and stagnation point boundary layer theory require multiple assumptions to establish the current engineering paradigm. Chief among these assumptions is the similarity between mass and heat transfer. Origins of these assumptions are demonstrated and their relationship to conservative engineering design is analyzed, as well as conditions where they possibly break down. An alternative approach for assessing aerothermal environments from the fluid domain is presented, which permits …

Kentucky Re-Entry Universal Payload System (Krups): Hypersonic Re-Entry Flight, John Daniel Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The Kentucky Re-entry Universal Payload System (KRUPS) is a small capsule designed as a technology testbed for re-entry experiments. For its first incarnation, KRUPS has been designed to test Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) and instruments in re-entry flights. Because of the unique environment a vehicle undergoes during re-entry, there is a high-demand for experimental data from re-entry experiments. KRUPS has been developed at the University of Kentucky (UK) over the past seven years to meet this demand. After completing sub-orbital campaigns, the first KRUPS hypersonic re-entry mission was attempted. The mission involved building three 11-inch diameter capsules each outfitted with …

Co2 Based Parachute Deployment, Anthony M. S. Settlemier, Nicholas Motter

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper describes the design process of a CO2 based parachute deployment system for the Akronauts Rocket Design team, with particular emphasis on the selection of methodologies of deployment as well as design iteration. The objective was to create a fully mechanical system in order to replace the black powder based systems that were used previously by the team.

Emphasis was put in creating a system that would function well at higher altitudes while also preventing damage to the parachute during deployment. This system emphasizes robustness under launch conditions.

Cfd And Heat Transfer Analysis Of Rocket Cooling Techniques On An Aerospike Nozzle, Geoffrey Sullivan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In recent years the development of rocket engines has been mainly focused on improving the engine cycle and creating new fuels. Rocket nozzle design has not been changed since the late 1960s. Recent needs for reliable and reusable rockets, as well as advancements in additive manufacturing, have brought new interest into the aerospike nozzle concept. This nozzle is a type of altitude adjusting nozzle that is up to 90% more efficient than bell nozzles at low altitudes and spends up to 30% less fuel. Since the nozzle body is submerged in the hot exhaust gasses it is difficult to keep …

Space Cargo: Ultra-Fast Delivery On Earth –Potential Of Using Suborbital Space Vehicles For The Transportation Of Cargo, Robert O. Walton, Robert A. Goehlich

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

No abstract provided.