Designing missions on expendable launch vehicles (ELV's) includes determining launch vehicle performance capabilities and trajectory characteristics over the range of mission requirements for suitable launch periods. This analysis depends on mathematically modeling both the launch vehicle and the mission requirements. Generally the result is a mathematical model that is described by an objective function to be optimized subject to an assortment of algebraic and dynamic constraints. About 30 years ago, engineers at Lewis Research Center (LeRC) undertook the task of creating a software code to solve 3D versions of such problems and based it on the Calculus of Variations/Optimal Control Theory. One of these codes, DUKSUP, has been in use at LeRC for nearly 25 years, during which time it has played an important role in a large number of studies and actual missions. Currently it is being used by about 12 analysts in the Center's Advanced Space Analysis Office (ASAO) to do mission design, feasibility studies, corroboration of contractor data and planning studies for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). Today, it is one of the few ELV mission analysis production codes based on variational methods. With future ELV missions in mind, ASAO is presently creating a new code to upgrade DUKSUP's capabilities.
DUKSUP - A high thrust trajectory optimization code
AIAA, AHS, and ASEE, Aerospace Design Conference ; 1993 ; Irvine, CA, United States
1993-02-01
Conference paper
No indication
English
Low-Thrust, High-Accuracy Trajectory Optimization
Online Contents | 2007
|Low-Thrust, High-Accuracy Trajectory Optimization
AIAA | 2007
|Approximate finite-thrust trajectory optimization.
AIAA | 1969
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