ADVANCED SPACE

CAPSTONE - CISLUNAR AUTONOMOUS POSITIONING SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS AND NAVIGATION EXPERIMENT

IGF::OT::IGF RAPID INNOVATION FUNDS (RIF) FOR LEVERAGING DYNAMICS FOR INCREASED ORBIT TRANSFER EFFICIENCY

ADVANCED SPACE PROPOSES TO PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING SERVICES FOR EARLY HUMAN EXPLORATION MISSIONS TO THE HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS MISSION DIRECTORATE TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION (IV&V) ACTIVITIES AS IT RELATES TO GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION, AND CONTROL (GN&C) AND TRAJECTORY ANALYSES

FUTURE MISSIONS OPERATED BY NASA, COMMERCIAL ENTITIES, AND INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES WILL FACE INCREASING CONGESTION DUE TO LIMITED COMMUNICATION AND NAVIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE.

NEURAL NET CONTROL FOR ELECTRIC PROPULSION IN 3-BODY ORBITS

DISTRIBUTED SPACECRAFT MISSIONS (DSM) ARCHITECTURES PROVIDE UNIQUE SCIENTIFIC AND PROGRAMMATIC BENEFITS INCLUDING MULTIPOINT IN-SITU MEASUREMENTS, MULTI-ANGLE VIEWPOINTS, AND IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SEPARATELY MEASURED PHENOMENA AND THEIR TIME VARIATIONS. HOWEVER, THESE MISSIONS IMPOSE SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONAL DEMANDS ON GROUND TRACKING RESOURCES AND MISSION OPERATORS ALIKE, BY ADDING TO THE POPULATION OF SPACE VEHICLES TRACKED AND BY INCREASING THE VOLUME AND FREQUENCY OF SPACE COMMUNICATION CONTACTS. MOVING CERTAIN FUNCTIONS FROM THE GROUND TO THE SPACECRAFT CAN PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS FOR DSM OPERATIONS, PARTICULARLY FOR MISSIONS IN LOW EARTH ORBIT WHICH CAN NAVIGATE USING THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM. THE PROPOSED INNOVATION REPRESENTS A BREAKTHROUGH IN THIS CONCEPT.

SUSTAINED LOW ALTITUDE LUNAR ORBITAL MISSIONS (SLALOMS)

CISLUNAR AUTONOMOUS POSITIONING SYSTEM (CAPS)

IGF::OT::IGF THIS PROPOSAL WILL DEVELOP AN INNOVATIVE ARCHITECTURE AND CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS THAT PERMITS RELIABLE, SAFE, AND REPEATED SAMPLING OF SMALL BODIES. THE LOFTED REGOLITH SAMPLING (LORS) ARCHITECTURE IS BASED ON ADVANCED ASTRODYNAMICS AND AUTONOMY THAT IS ROBUST TO TARGET-BODY UNCERTAINTIES AND IS ADAPTIVE DURING OPERATIONS. THE LORS ARCHITECTURE IS BASED ON SEVERAL KEY PHASES THAT ULTIMATELY LEAD TO A THOROUGH CHARACTERIZATION OF THE TARGET BODY AND COLLECTION OF MULTIPLE SAMPLES WHILE AVOIDING COMPLEX AND HIGHLY UNPREDICTABLE LANDING REQUIREMENTS. THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS CHARACTERIZATION IS THE ESTIMATION OF THE BODY'S GRAVITATIONAL FIELD AND REMOTE SENSING OF THE NEO SURFACE. AFTER SUFFICIENTLY CHARACTERIZING THE BODY, THE SECOND PHASE OF THE PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE IS TO DISTURB MATERIAL ON THE SURFACE OF THE SMALL BODY SUCH THAT IT IS LOFTED INTO ORBIT ABOUT THE BODY. THIS DISTURBANCE CAN BE INITIATED WITH A VARIETY OF CHEMICAL EXPLOSIONS, KINETIC IMPACTORS, OR OTHER FORCES WHICH WILL BE EVALUATED DURING THE PROPOSED EFFORT. THE THIRD PHASE IS TO REMOTELY CHARACTERIZE THE LOFTED MATERIAL TO IDENTIFY KEY ATTRIBUTES SUCH AS SIZE AND COMPOSITION. THE FOURTH PHASE OF OPERATIONS IS FOR THE ORBITING SPACECRAFT TO APPROACH A SPECIFIC PORTION OF THE DEBRIS FIELD AND COLLECT PHYSICAL SAMPLES FROM THE NEO. ONCE SAMPLES HAVE BEEN COLLECTED IN ORBIT, THE VEHICLE CAN FURTHER EVALUATE THE SAMPLES ON-BOARD, IDENTIFYING KEY CONSTITUENTS ETC., AND RETURN THIS INFORMATION TO TERRESTRIAL SCIENTISTS.

IGF::OT::IGF RECENT EFFORTS LED BY THE PI OF THIS PROPOSAL HAVE STUDIED THE BENEFITS OF A SATELLITE NAVIGATION TECHNIQUE KNOWN AS LINKED AUTONOMOUS INTERPLANETARY SATELLITE ORBIT NAVIGATION (LIAISON). LIAISON MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE ABSOLUTE, INERTIAL NAVIGATION OF TWO OR MORE SATELLITES USING ONLY RELATIVE SATELLITE-TO-SATELLITE TRACKING DATA. LIAISON REMOVES THE NEED FOR GROUND TRACKING AND PERMITS A CONSTELLATION TO ACHIEVE AUTONOMY WITH ON-BOARD NAVIGATION SOFTWARE. A GOOD EXAMPLE OF LIAISON INVOLVES ONE SATELLITE TRAVERSING A LIBRATION ORBIT ABOUT THE EARTH-MOON L2 POINT (PERHAPS PROVIDING COMMUNICATION SERVICES TO THE LUNAR FAR-SIDE) AND ANOTHER SATELLITE TRAVERSING A LOW LUNAR ORBIT. THE TIME-SERIES OF RANGE DATA BETWEEN THE TWO SATELLITES IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT CANNOT BE REPRODUCED BY ANY OTHER TWO ORBITS. THE UNIQUENESS OF THESE TWO ORBITS BASED ON THEIR RELATIVE POSITION AND/OR VELOCITY PERMITS THE ESTIMATION OF THE ABSOLUTE POSITIONS OF BOTH SPACECRAFT. ANOTHER EXAMPLE CONFIGURATION PLACES ONE SATELLITE IN A DISTANT RETROGRADE ORBIT ABOUT THE MOON (A DESIRABLE ORBIT FOR MANY MISSION CONCEPTS INCLUDING ORION, THE ASTEROID REDIRECT MISSION (ARM), AND VARIOUS MARS SAMPLE RETURN CONCEPTS) AND A SECOND SATELLITE ANYWHERE ELSE IN CISLUNAR SPACE. NUMEROUS RECENT ACADEMIC STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT PROCESSING SATELLITE-TO-SATELLITE TRACKING DATA FOR THESE VEHICLES YIELDS ABSOLUTE NAVIGATION STATES FOR BOTH VEHICLES. EXTENSIVE ACADEMIC STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS ALGORITHM OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS. ADVANCED SPACE PROPOSES TO DEVELOP THIS INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY INTO A ROBUST, EXPANDABLE IN-SPACE NAVIGATION SYSTEM, SIMULATED THROUGH A REPRESENTATIVE REAL-TIME ENVIRONMENT, POSITIONING IT FOR INFUSION INTO SPACEFLIGHT MISSIONS. THE RESULTING SYSTEM LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR THE PROPOSED CISLUNAR AUTONOMOUS POSITIONING SYSTEM (CAPS), WHICH INFUSES THE STRENGTH OF LIAISON INTO AN OPERATIONAL NETWORK.

ONBOARD DATA INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SPACECRAFT (ODIS)

THE GRAIL AND LADEE MISSIONS DEMONSTRATED THE INHERENT VALUE OF SKIMMING LOW OVER THE LUNAR SURFACE, YET THEY ONLY PROBED BELOW 10 KM VERY BRIEFLY DURING PERIAPSE PASSAGES. ADVANCED SPACE PROPOSES DEVELOPING THE MEANS FOR FLYING SPACECRAFT IN AN ORBIT THAT REMAINS BELOW 10 KM ALTITUDE FOR WEEKS OR MONTHS, OPENING THE DOOR TO BREAKTHROUGH SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL STUDY AN INNOVATIVE SYSTEM THAT MAY BE USED TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINED LOW-ALTITUDE LUNAR ORBITAL MISSIONS (SLALOM), ENABLED THROUGH AUTONOMOUS ONBOARD GNC CAPABILITIES AND THE USE OF FLASH LIDAR. THE PROPOSED STUDY EXPLORES THE DYNAMICS OF SLALOM, PERFORMS NAVIGATION ANALYSES, EVALUATES MANEUVER PLANNING METHODOLOGIES, AND RESEARCHES HOW UNIQUE INNOVATIONS IN SPACECRAFT AUTONOMY CAN TRANSFER OPERATIONS FROM THE GROUND TO THE SPACECRAFT. SKIMMING THE LUNAR SURFACE AUTONOMOUSLY WITH A SPACECRAFT THAT REMAINS BELOW AN ALTITUDE OF 10 KM IS A CHALLENGING PROPOSITION THAT REQUIRES AN ENTIRELY NEW APPROACH TO SPACECRAFT NAVIGATION, MANEUVER DESIGN AND EXECUTION, AND SPACECRAFT AUTONOMY. SLALOM, WITH THE REQUISITE BREAKTHROUGH IMPROVEMENTS IN GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION, AND CONTROL TECHNOLOGY, ALLOWS NEW SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS SUCH AS THE DIRECT SENSING AND/OR CAPTURE OF LUNAR PARTICLES NATURALLY LOFTED BY THE COMPLICATED DYNAMICS OF THE LUNAR EXOSPHERE. THE BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED INNOVATION IN SPACECRAFT AUTONOMY EXTEND NATURALLY TO OTHER AIRLESS BODIES WHERE SUSTAINED LOW-ALTITUDE ORBITS ARE MISSION ENABLING. THESE INCLUDE, AMONG OTHERS, THE SCIENTIFIC AND COMMERCIAL EXPLORATION OF ASTEROIDS AND THE MARTIAN SATELLITES PHOBOS AND DEIMOS. WHILE THESE APPLICATIONS ARE COMPELLING, ADVANCED SPACE IDENTIFIES THE MOON AS AN IDEAL PROVING GROUND FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY FOR MANY REASONS, NOT LEAST OF WHICH IS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WEALTH OF GEODETIC REFERENCE DATA GENERATED BY PREVIOUS MISSIONS AND THE DESIRE FOR LOW-ALTITUDE, HIGH VALUE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS IDENTIFIED BY THE LUNAR SCIENCE COMMUNITY.

IGF::OT::IGF DISTRIBUTED SPACECRAFT MISSIONS (DSMS) SUCH AS CONSTELLATIONS, FORMATION-FLYING MISSIONS, AND FRACTIONATED MISSIONS PROVIDE UNIQUE SCIENTIFIC AND PROGRAMMATIC BENEFITS. DISTRIBUTED MISSION ARCHITECTURES ALLOW FOR MULTIPOINT IN-SITU MEASUREMENTS, MULTI-ANGLE VIEWPOINTS, AND CONSIDERABLY IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SEPARATELY MEASURED PHENOMENA AND THEIR TIME VARIATIONS. DSMS ARE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR NASA'S EFFORTS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND SUN-EARTH INTERACTIONS, SPACE WEATHER, AND HELIOPHYSICS, AND THEY DELIVER OPERATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC BENEFITS FOR MISSIONS TO SMALL BODIES AND PLANETARY SATELLITES AS WELL. IN ALL CASES THESE MISSIONS IMPOSE UNIQUE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS THAT CAN STRESS GROUND TRACKING STATIONS AND MISSION OPERATORS BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES OR CREATE CHALLENGES WHEN ESTABLISHING SUFFICIENT COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS. THESE DSM CHALLENGES CAN BE ADDRESSED BY EMPLOYING AUTOMATION BOTH ON BOARD AND ON THE GROUND. MOVING AUTONOMOUS OPERATIONS ON BOARD THE SPACECRAFT MITIGATES BOTH THE OPERATIONAL BURDEN OF SUCH MISSIONS AS WELL AS THE GROUND SEGMENT CONGESTION FACED IN THESE SCENARIOS. ADVANCED SPACE PROPOSES DEVELOPING A REAL-TIME (RT), OPEN SOURCE, EMBEDDED SOFTWARE (ESW) APPLICATION FOR ON-BOARD MANEUVER PLANNING AND RELATIVE ORBIT DETERMINATION THAT IS COMPATIBLE WITH NASA'S CORE FLIGHT SYSTEM (CFS) AND THAT ENABLES DSMS TO OPERATE WITH INCREASED AUTONOMY IN THEIR SPACECRAFT OPERATIONS. IN COMBINATION WITH CFS, AN ON-BOARD SOFTWARE ENGINE CAPABLE OF EMPLOYING A LINEARIZED SOLUTION OF LAMBERT'S PROBLEM WILL YIELD A POWERFUL AND ENABLING APPLICATION FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF MISSIONS USING DISTRIBUTED SPACECRAFT ARRANGEMENTS.

NEURAL NET CONTROL FOR ELECTRIC PROPULSION IN 3-BODY ORBITS

IGF::OT::IGF SPACECRAFT MISSIONS ARE MORE COMMONLY ENTERING HIGHLY DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS, SUCH AS LUNAR LIBRATION ORBITS, ORBITS ABOUT SMALL BODIES, AND ORBITS DRIVEN BY LOW-THRUST PROPULSION. ADVANCED SPACE PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A ROBUST NAVIGATION FILTER OPTIMIZED FOR EACH OF THESE HIGHLY DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS. FURTHER, THE TOOL WILL BE DESIGNED TO BE OPEN-SOURCE AND WORK WITH TOOLS SUCH AS NASA'S GENERAL MISSION ANALYSIS TOOL (GMAT). THE DYNAMIC FILTER WILL IMPLEMENT STATE-OF-THE-ART PROCESS NOISE STRATEGIES TUNED FOR DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS. THESE PROCESS NOISE STRATEGIES, COMBINED WITH AN EXTENDED KALMAN FILTER, WILL PERMIT THE FILTER TO OPERATE ON VERY LONG ARCS WITHOUT RESETS, TO OPERATE ON UNSTABLE TRAJECTORIES, AND TO OPERATE ON TRAJECTORIES PROPAGATED IN UNDETERMINED SYSTEMS, SUCH AS IN THE VICINITY OF AN UNCHARACTERIZED ASTEROID. THE FILTER WILL ESTIMATE UNMODELED ACCELERATIONS, TUNED TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE UNCERTAINTIES PRESENT IN EACH OF THESE HIGHLY DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS.

MISSION DESIGN ANALYSIS FOR DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION SYSTEMS

INNOVATIVE PROJECT TO INTEGRATE ADVANCED ASTRODYNAMICS ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES