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Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
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ItemGeorgia Tech contributions to the H&RT ultra lightweight, inflatable ...(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-07-14) Braun, Robert D.
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ItemDevelopment of a conceptual design mission analysis system for guided entry systems(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-06-30) Braun, Robert D.
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ItemEntry, Descent, and Landing System Design for the Mars Gravity Biosatellite(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-06-26) Korzun, Ashley M. ; Smith, Brandon P. ; Yu, Chi-Yau ; Hartzell, Christine M. ; Hott, Kyle B. ; Place, Laura A. ; Braun, Robert D. ; Martinelli, Scott K.Mars Gravity Biosatellite is a novel program aimed at providing data on the effects of partial gravity on mammalian physiology. A collaboration between MIT and Georgia Tech, this student-developed free-flyer spacecraft is designed to carry a payload of 15 mice into low Earth orbit, rotating to generate accelerations equivalent to Martian gravity. After 35 days, the payload will re-enter the atmosphere and be recovered for study. Having engaged more than 500 students to date in space life science, systems engineering, and hardware development, the Mars Gravity Biosatellite program offers a unique, interdisciplinary educational opportunity to address a critical challenge in the next steps in human space exploration through the development of a free-flyer platform for partial gravity science with full entry, descent, and landing (EDL) capability. Execution of a full entry, descent, and landing from low Earth orbit is a rare requirement among university-class spacecraft. The EDL design for the Mars Gravity Biosatellite is driven by requirements on the allowable deceleration profile for a payload of de-conditioned mice and maximum allowable recovery time. The 260 kg entry vehicle follows a ballistic trajectory from low Earth orbit to a target recovery site at the Utah Test and Training Range. Reflecting an emphasis on design simplicity and the use of heritage technology, the entry vehicle uses the Discoverer aeroshell geometry and leverages aerodynamic decelerators for mid-air recovery and operations originally developed for the Genesis mission. This paper presents the student-developed EDL design for the Mars Gravity Biosatellite, with emphasis on trajectory design, dispersion analysis, and mechanical design and performance analysis of the thermal protection and parachute systems. Also included is discussion on EDL event sequencing and triggers, contingency operations, the deorbit of the spacecraft bus, plans for further work, and the educational impact of the Mars Gravity Biosatellite program.
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ItemIntroducing PESST: A Conceptual Design and Analysis Tool for Unguided/Guided EDL Systems(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-06-24) Otero, Richard ; Grant, Michael ; Steinfeldt, Brad ; Braun, Robert D.The Planetary Entry Systems and Synthesis Tool (PESST) has been under development at the Space Systems Design Laboratory (SSDL) for several years. This framework has the capability to estimate the performance and mass of a hypersonic vehicle using user-defined geometry, hypersonic aerodynamics, flight mechanics, selectable guidance, thermal response and mass estimation. Earth and Mars atmospheres are preloaded with the ability to also use either user-defined or GRAM atmospheric models. Trade studies can be performed by parameter sweeps to gain an excellent understanding of the design space for conceptual studies. This framework is broadly applicable to conceptual studies of EDL, aerocapture and precision and/or pin point landing systems.
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ItemPlanetary entry system synthesis tool, a method for hypersonic aerodynamic shape optimization(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-03-31) Braun, Robert D. ; Theisinger, John E.
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ItemTrajectory simulation tool for the assessment of viable planetary defense ...(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-12-12) Braun, Robert D. ; Stahl, Benjamin Andrew
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ItemTechnology Readiness Level, Schedule Risk and Slippage in Spacecraft Design: Data Analysis and Modeling(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-09) Dubos, Gregory F. ; Saleh, Joseph H. ; Braun, Robert D.Schedule slippage plagues the space industry, and is antinomic with the recent emphasis on space responsiveness. The Government Accountability Office has repeatedly noted the difficulties encountered by the Department of Defense in keeping its acquisition of space systems on schedule, and identified the low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the system/payload under development as a principal culprit driving schedule risk and slippage. In this paper, we analyze based on data from past space programs the relationship between technology uncertainty and schedule risk in the acquisition of space systems, and propose an analytical framework to identify appropriate schedule margins for mitigating the risk of schedule slippage. We also introduce the TRL-schedule-risk curves to help program managers make riskinformed decisions regarding the appropriate schedule margins for a given program, or the appropriate TRL to consider should the program’s schedule be exogenously and rigidly constrained. We recommend based on our findings, that the industry adopts and develops schedule risk curves (instead of single schedule point estimates), 2) that these schedule risk curves be made available to policy- and decision-makers in acquisition programs; and 3) that adequate schedule margins be defined according to an agreed upon and acceptable schedule risk level.
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ItemDesign Space Pruning Techniques for Low-Thrust, Multiple Asteroid Rendezvous Trajectory Design(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-09) Alemany, Kristina ; Braun, Robert D.In 2006, the 2nd Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC2) posed a “Grand Asteroid Tour” trajectory optimization problem, where participants were required to find the best possible low-thrust trajectory that would rendezvous with one asteroid from each of four defined groups. As a first step, most teams employed some form of design space pruning, in order to reduce the overall number of possible asteroid combinations. Because of the large size of the problem, teams were not able to determine if their pruning technique had successfully eliminated only bad solutions from the design space. Therefore, a small subset of the GTOC2 problem was analyzed, and several design space pruning techniques were applied to determine their effectiveness. The results indicate that the pruning techniques chosen by the participants likely eliminated good solutions from the design space, because they either did not accurately represent the low-thrust problem or could not be considered independently without the effect of other factors.
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ItemPinpoint landing technology assessment for autonomous space exploration(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-07-25) Braun, Robert D.
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Item5th International planetary probe workshop(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-06-23) Braun, Robert D.