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Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, February 10, 2014 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium

Jacob Englander & Frank Kirchman

"Designing Trajectories for Low-thrust Propulsion"

ABSTRACT -- Low-thrust electric propulsion technology enables access to difficult targets in the solar system. A spacecraft using electric propulsion can often deliver a much larger payload to its destination than one using conventional chemical propulsion, making it an ideal choice for challenging targets like asteroids and comets, or for planetary sample-return missions. However, low-thrust missions require a different design approach than chemical missions. The performance of the launch vehicle, the propulsion system, and the power system are inextricably coupled with the dry mass of the spacecraft and cannot be chosen separately. Instead a simultaneous optimization problem must be solved by the flight dynamics and systems engineer. In this presentation, we outline why low-thrust electric propulsion requires a unique systems engineering approach, how we do the design, and the tools that are used here at Goddard to accomplish the task.

SPEAKER -- Jacob Englander is an engineer in the Navigation and Mission Design Branch (Code 595). He earned his PhD from the University of Illinois in May 2013 under Professor Bruce Conway. Dr. Englander is the developer of the Evolutionary Mission Trajectory Generator (EMTG), Goddard’s low-thrust mission design tool, and also the coach of the Goddard Track Club.

SPEAKER -- Frank Kirchman is a Mission Systems Engineer in the Integrated Design Center (IDC), where he advocates new mission enabling technologies for advanced mission concepts. Previous experience includes being the phase A MSE for GEMS and NICER, and leading GSFC’s Instrument Systems Engineers. He has participated in the COBE, XTE, and Swift mission design and development.


Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov