Astrodynamics Technologies

OPAG workshop
Feb 21,2018

OPAG workshop Ryan P. Russell

Feb 23,2018 The University of Texas at Austin
ryan.russell@utexas.edu
 Agenda
• Introductions
• Astrodynamics for Outer Planets
- Overview
- Specifics to OPAG
- Enabling successful past/current missions
- Enabling/improving future missions
- Recommendations: (consider treating Astrodynamics as
a “push technology” rather than “pull”)
 Who is the Astrodynamics Community?

• I am attempting to represent a large community of

researchers and practitioners
• NASA centers, FFRDCs, Universities, international space
agencies
• Professional Societies
- American Astronautically Society (AAS)
• Astrodynamics Specialist Meeting
• Spaceflight Mechanics Meeting
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
• Astrodynamics Technical Committee (chair elect)
• GNC Technical Communities
- International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics (ISSFD)
 Astrodynamics Defined…
• The study and application of the dynamics of spacecraft and
celestial bodies
• Synonyms: celestial mechanics, orbit mechanics, and
spaceflight mechanics
• Astrodynamics is an applied, cross-cutting discipline that
includes
- mathematics
- optimization theory
- estimation theory
- statistics and probability
- environment modeling
- numerical/data analysis
- computational engineering
 Domains of Astrodynamics
• Earth focused
- Military (assets, technologies to support DoD,
GPS, space catalogue, space situational
awareness)
- Commercial (design, launch, track commercial
satellites, GEO/LEO)
- Science/Exploration (ISS, Earth remote sensing,
weather etc.)
• Beyond Earth (~Science/Exploration)
- Moon, cis-lunar
- Inner planets
- Small bodies (comets/asteroids)
- Outer planets
(and planetary moon systems)
 Outer Planets Astrodynamics
• Mission Destinations…
- Gas Giant systems
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune
- Kuiper belt bodies
- Icy moons
• Titan/Enceladus
• Europa/Ganymede/Callisto
 Roles of Astrodynamics
• Mission design
- Concept feasibility/early mission development
- Proposal reference trajectory
- Extended missions designs
- Trajectory optimization/Path planning
• Flight operations/Technologies
- Modeling/simulation
- Tracking/Orbit determination
- Automated maneuver planning
- GNC (Guidance, Navigation, Control)
• Estimation theory
• Autonomy/Robotics (e.g. OpNav, precision landing)
• Science recovery
- Orbit determination (plus sought after parameters)
- Remote sensing/Data analysis/Signal processing
 Outer Planet Astrodynamics
• “It’s a solved problem” - doesn’t
apply here…
• Outer planet missions are among the
hardest missions to design
• Extraordinarily large design space
• Difficult constraints
- Radiation
- Lighting
- Timing/Long seasons
• Strong non-Keplerian dynamics
- third body
- non-spherical gravity
- Tether applications
• Outer planet missions stand to
benefit the most from improved
Astrodynamics methods/software
 Success Stories
• Voyager grand tour, Galileo tour, Cassini
- Mid-mission, development of new tour design tool
(MTOUR), enabled extended missions, grand finale
• Celestial Mechanics & Dynamical Systems->
Third body dynamics missions: Genesis, Spitzer,
ICE, Lunar missions
• Dawn: low-thrust optimization software Mystic
enabled its success (and lifeline preventing it from
being canceled). Hayabusa another example
• Cassini
• Europa Clipper/Europa Lander/Juice
• Jupiter System Grand Tour (weak capture at all 4 Icy
moons for no ∆v)
• MOSTLY EXECUTED AS “PULL TECHNOLOGY”
 Outer Planet Astrodynamics

OBJECTIVE: Maximize Science →

Minimize Cost ↓
Conventional Flagship Class…
State of the art
methods methods To be 
discovered 
Mission Cost ($)

methods? 

New Frontiers…

Discovery…

Mission Science Return
 Exploring the Design Space
• Each dot is a point design
• Single dots can be massive effort (say team of
engineers, working for weeks)
• Need new automated methods to search full space
Notional Design Space
with 3 Performance Indices

Metric 2
radiation

Metric 1

want to minimize both objectives
 Typical Mission Study/Proposal

• Rushed timeline, limited budget Iterative Design Cycle

• Most elements of spacecraft system
Science 
require/hinge on a credible reference
requirements
trajectory
• Basic mission design (necessarily)
fixed at an early stage
Spacecraft 
• Common Result: Systems  Reference 
- Best feasible point design is Design trajectory
chosen/fixed
- design space not fully explored
- Point of no return reached… Astrodynamics 
• With competition for discovery/new Tools
frontier proposals, the stakes are high
 Astrodynamics Focus Areas
(next decade)
• Multibody dynamics research vetted to zeroth order by many in the community
- Orbit stability
- Highly non-spherical gravity fields
- Ballistic Capture
- Planetary moon tours / Resonance hopping
• Numerical methods
- Analytical solutions/Fast proxy models
- High performance computing
- Monte Carlos, high fidelity sims, long-term orbit prediction, body ephemerides
- Planetary protection simulations,
• Optimization Theory
- Global optimization
- Combinatorial optimization
- Low thrust optimization
- Optimization of tethered/sail/non-propellant propulsion
• Small Satellite missions (i.e. low budget, low res sensors etc)
• GNC technologies
- Aero braking/ EDL technologies (e.g. Titan)
- Precision terrain relative navigation (e.g. Europa, Enceladus)
- Autonomy/ AutoNav/ Optical navigation
- Advanced Estimation Techniques
- Autonomous approach, orbit insertion, and tour execution
 Suggestion forward
• Maximize the impact of mission studies by investing in precursor
astrodynamics research programs (“Give it a Shot!”…)
• Tap into the large community of Astrodynamicists
- NASA, FFRDCs, non-profits, universities, international
• Open up competitive opportunities for solution methods (before mission
studies, lower TRL)
• Solicit “push technologies” rather than “pull”
• Help remove the stovepipes
- More opportunities for collaborations
- Centers of Excellence, MURIs, etc.
- Encourage cross-center collaborations
• Similar model to Science (competitions, annual mechanisms to propose
new ideas etc)
• Advocate for astrodynamics language (specific to mission destinations) in
steering documents, NASA HQ technology calls
• Low investment (mainly software/simulations) potential high payoff
Example Technologies
 Low-Thrust Trajectory Design
1998‐2001 2003‐2006 2003‐2010 2007‐
2015

Deep Space 1 SMART‐1 Hayabusa Dawn

Mission: Testing / Flyby Mission:  Orbiter Mission: Sample Return Mission: Flyby / Orbiter
Bodies: Comet Borrelly Bodies:  Moon Bodies: Itokawa Bodies: Mars‐Vesta‐Ceres
Isp: 3100 s Isp: 1640 s Isp: 2900 s Isp: 3100 s

• Why consider low-thrust systems ?

- More efficient propulsion (high Isp, no fuel with solar sail)
- Larger payload ratio (smaller launch vehicle)
- Cheaper
- Flexible mission design with extended launch windows
 Challenges of Low-Thrust
• HUGE design space
• Highly non-linear Long
thrusting
periods
Multi-body
problems

Multiple
local
minima

Multi-revolution
problems
Constraints
Low Energy Third-Body Dynamics
 ~Ballistic Capture

Primary

Quasi‐ballistic capture
Loosely orbit for “free”
Multiple Flyby Trajectories

Titan Enceladus Cycler
 Long Life Periodic Science Orbits
Enceladus Vesta
Europa

Ganymede 

Phobos
 Gaussian Mixture Models

• Applications
- Planetary protection
- Collision probability
- Navigation Monte
Carlos
- Uncertainty
Quantification
• Fast proxy model
• Make a non-Gaussian
distribution using a
sum of Gaussians
• Split the distribution in Full distribution
multiple dimensions Approximate 
distribution
 Fast Gravity Models

Point mascon model Interpolation model

rj
rcm Mj

Multi‐core models
 Analytic Models (e.g. low-thrust, oblate
planets, three-body)
• Orbit averaging
• Perturbation theory
• Choice of independent variables, coordinates
matter
• Speed allows massive, rapid searches
• New/improved methods
- Vinti model: Oblate bodies (large J2 like Earth
all the gas giants)
- Control models (analytic low thrust models)
Analytic propagation of 
- Series solutions (modern taylor series,
Saturn insertion
others)
- STARK MODEL (from physics –charged
particles in homogeneous e field)

u0
x1 xN-1 uN-1 Numerical propagation: 
x2 SLOW
x0 xN
u1
Analytic Models: FAST
t0 t1 t2 tN-1 tN
 Auto/Optical Navigation at Small bodies

• Autonomous S.L.A.M.
• On‐board (simultaneous 
• Filtering  localization and 
(EKF/UKF/DDF) mapping)
• Approach/ • Body Spin State
Descent • S/C position
• Pinpoint landing  • S/C attitude
BACKUPS
 Introductions…
My Research Interests
• Trajectory optimization
• Multi-body dynamics
• Perturbation methods
• Numerical methods/ HPC
• Planetary moon missions
• Gravity modeling
• Optimal control
• Space Situational Awareness
• Navigation/ Proximity Operations