Brennan, M. J., & Nokes, A. W., & Fowler, W. T. (2013, June), Using a Graduate Student Developed Trajectory Generation Program to Facilitate Undergraduate Spacecraft / Mission Capstone Design Projects  Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--22688

\bibitem{asee_peer_22688}
  Brennan, M. J., \& Nokes, A. W., \& Fowler, W. T. (2013, June), \emph{Using a Graduate Student Developed Trajectory Generation Program to Facilitate Undergraduate Spacecraft / Mission Capstone Design Projects}
  Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia.
  10.18260/1-2--22688

Martin James Brennan, Adam Wayne Nokes, and Wallace T. Fowler P.E..  "Using a Graduate Student Developed Trajectory Generation Program to Facilitate Undergraduate Spacecraft / Mission Capstone Design Projects".  2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2013.  https://peer.asee.org/22688 Internet.  15 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_22688}
  Martin James Brennan, Adam Wayne Nokes, and Wallace T. Fowler P.E..
  "Using a Graduate Student Developed Trajectory Generation Program to Facilitate Undergraduate Spacecraft / Mission Capstone Design Projects".
  \emph{2013 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2013.
  https://peer.asee.org/22688 Internet.  15 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_22688
author = "Martin James Brennan, Adam Wayne Nokes, and Wallace T. Fowler P.E."
title = "Using a Graduate Student Developed Trajectory Generation Program to Facilitate Undergraduate Spacecraft / Mission Capstone Design Projects"
booktitle = "2013 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2013"
month = "June"
address = "Atlanta, Georgia"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/22688}
number = {10.18260/1-2--22688}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -    Using a Graduate Student Developed Trajectory Generation Program to   Facilitate Undergraduate Spacecraft / Mission Capstone Design Projects        A stumbling block in undergraduate spacecraft/mission design projects is the earlygeneration of plausible baseline trajectories for missions outside of Earth orbit. Many studentteams rely almost totally on the literature for their baseline trajectories, and often do not progressvery far beyond these baseline trajectories in their final designs. The problem is that trajectorydesign for interplanetary missions has many options and senior aerospace engineering studentshave neither the experience nor the time to explore the options well.       In 2010-2011, the lead author developed a robust preliminary trajectory generationprogram for his MS thesis project. The goal was to develop a program that could be used byundergraduate students to explore the solution space for many interplanetary missions. Thisprogram is based on three dimensional conic trajectories and features deep space maneuvers,powered and unpowered planetary flybys, and JPL planetary ephemerides. The program hasbeen used to replicate the Voyager missions, the Cassini mission, the Ulysses mission, the Junomission, etc.         A pedagogical strength of allowing students to use the program is that the trajectory toolsused are only those covered in the basic undergraduate orbital mechanics course. These are twobody motion, gravity assists, impulsive maneuvers, and Lambert targeting. The program takes astudent provided initial mission architecture (powered/unpowered flyby sequence, estimates of{start date, maneuver dates, arrival date}) and creates a Lambert targeted baseline missiontrajectory. The program then uses one of two MatLab optimizing procedures to move the eventdates, while allowing the possibility of inserting deep space maneuvers between flybys. Theresult is a local optimum in the vicinity of the initial estimates that conforms to the initialmission flyby sequence.        The way that the program is used in the classroom is as follows. The graduate studentwho wrote the program (the first author) and the design class teaching assistant (the secondauthor) create a sample trajectory with one of the logical mission flyby sequences for eachstudent design project. The code then enables the student to search over a wide range of potentialdeparture dates and total transit times. Though optimization procedures gravitate towards localsolutions within the neighborhood of initial inputs, an expansive search routine implemented bythe second author provides insight into the range of inputs that produce desirable missionparameters. Further understanding is gained by plotting procedures that compare the top resultsside by side, allowing the student teams to select the most preferable for their chosen mission.The baseline trajectory and search range are used as a tutorial tool for the student(s) in the designteam who are responsible for trajectory generation on their team’s mission. Each team is givenits own copy of the program and must decide on its own mission architecture and generate itsown trajectories. The following figures display a sample of the three dimensional trajectoryviewing capability that is customizable for any vantage point. Figure 1: Cassini mission trajectory incorporates Venus, Earth, and Jupiter unpowered gravity                     assists and a deep space maneuver to arrive at SaturnFigure 2: Ulysses mission utilizes a Jupiter gravity assist to dramatically change its orbital plane             and enable viewing the Sun and solar system from a new perspective
AU  - Martin James Brennan
AU  - Adam Wayne Nokes
AU  - Wallace T. Fowler P.E.
CY  - Atlanta, Georgia
DA  - 2013/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Using a Graduate Student Developed Trajectory Generation Program to Facilitate Undergraduate Spacecraft / Mission Capstone Design Projects
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/22688
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--22688
ER  -