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Graduate Seminar Series 2007-2008 Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007 Room 112, ME-EM Bldg. 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Funding for the ME-EM Graduate Seminar Series is provided by the Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics. Visit www.me.mtu.edu/seminar for more information. . The Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics Proudly Presents AN OVERVIEW OF THE ASTRODYNAMICS AND SPACECRAFT GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION, & CONTROL EFFORTS AT THE AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY This presentation summarizes the most recent research by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Astrodynamics/Guidance, Navigation, & Control (AGN&C) Team and its collaborators. The AGN&C Team conducts research in-house and also contracts research to external groups. The main aspects to be covered include development of maneuver planning algorithms for close proximity satellite missions, modeling of the space environment (particularly atmospheric density), and algorithm development for problems involving space object tracking. Close proximity applications include both formation flying (e.g. multi-satellite distributed aperture space-based sensing) and rendezvous/proximity operations. For missions of this type, it is crucial that the relative motion between two or more satellites be accurately modeled and controlled. Toward this end, the AGN&C Team formulated a new characterization of relative motion using parameters that are termed relative orbit elements (ROEs), which will be thoroughly detailed here. These comprise an effective approximation of all possible 2-D and 3- D relative motion. A set of maneuver algorithms based on ROEs for reconfiguring the relative trajectories of satellites will be presented. The density modeling research is part of an effort to better characterize drag on a spacecraft, as it affects orbit determination accuracy of a spacecraft, on-orbit stationkeeping requirements, and orbital lifetime. This represents a joint effort with physicists at Hanscom AFB. The presentation will also include a description of the Space Scholars Program, a summer internship opportunity at AFRL for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. T. Alan Lovell Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate Kirtland AFB, NM Dr. Thomas Alan Lovell is a Research Aerospace Engineer in the Simulation & Technology Assessment Branch within the Space Vehicles Directorate of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory located at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. He is the Head of the Directorate’s Space Scholars Summer Internship Program. He received his B.S. from Georgia Tech in 1991, his M.S. from Arizona State University in 1994, & his Ph.D. from Auburn University in 2001; all three degrees are in Aerospace Engineering. He has authored or co- authored over 30 conference papers and a dozen journal articles on Astrodynamics and Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, & Control. He recently contributed to the 3 rd edition of the book Fundamentals of Astrodynamics by David Vallado. He is a Senior Member of AIAA & AAS, & is a member of the AAS Spaceflight Mechanics & AIAA Astrodynamics Technical Committees. His research interests include astrodynamics, orbit determination, trajectory optimization, and feedback control design.
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