{"630226":{"#nid":"630226","#data":{"type":"event","title":"MS Defense by Richard Hunter","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERichard Hunter\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAdvisor: Prof. Brian Gunter\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nwill defend a master\u0026rsquo;s thesis entitled,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nOptimal Phasing and Performance Mapping for Translunar Satellite Missions\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAcross the Earth-Moon Nodal Cycle\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nOn\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nFriday, December 20 at 9:00 a.m.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMontgomery Knight Building 317\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAbstract\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nNASA has declared the Moon a strategic focal point of the US space program in the coming decade. This\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nfocus is driven by the potential for lunar exploration to advance space science, technology, and industry.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nPer the National Research Council\u0026rsquo;s planetary science decadal study, an analysis of the lunar surface offers\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ninsight into the impact history of the early solar system and composition of the stellar winds. Lunar orbit\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nrepresents a valuable testing ground for deep-space technologies beyond the shield of Earth\u0026rsquo;s magnetic\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nfield. With the discovery of water ice at the lunar poles, there exists potential to harvest oxygen, hydrogen\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nand liquid water to support permanent human outposts. Finally, the development of orbital infrastructure\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nmay provide a launch point for the exploration of Mars and the outer solar system. The importance of\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nthese goals is demonstrated by significant investments in the Artemis and Commercial Lunar Payload\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nServices programs. Unlike Apollo, these programs are built around long term, sustainable science and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nexploration. Within this new Lunar era, there is opportunity for small satellites to play a valuable role as\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\npathfinders. When compared to traditional New Frontiers, Discovery, and Flagship class science missions,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nsmall satellite architectures enable new, innovative instrumentation for high scientific yield and iterative\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ntesting of technologies. To be viable as pathfinders, Lunar missions must depart frequently. This can be\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nenabled through compatibility with contemporary, low-cost commercial launch vehicles. However, the\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nEarth-Moon system is highly dynamic. Mission performance is a function of arrival conditions, and relative\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\npositions of the Earth and Moon across the various lunar cycles. Presently, there is no reference to\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nquantify these dependencies in the context of small satellite mission design. This research bridges that\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\ngap with a global characterization of performance demands for lunar flyby, orbit insertion, and landing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nmissions with 0-24 kg payloads over an 18.6-year nodal precession. By the simulation and statistical\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nanalysis of over 640,000 trajectories with a high-fidelity propagator, optimal monthly departure times\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nfrom 2020 to 2038 have been identified. Through a study of periodic and secular performance trends, this\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nthesis quantifies the dependencies between mission performance and 1) Departure epoch, 2) Lunar arrival\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nKeplerian elements, and 3) Payload mass. Finally, it demonstrates the viability of low-cost, high-cadence\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nmissions by mapping observed total mission mass against the lift capacity of commercial launch vehicles.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommittee\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026bull; Prof. Brian Gunter \u0026ndash; School of Aerospace Engineering (advisor)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026bull; Prof. Glenn Lightsey \u0026ndash; School of Aerospace Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026bull; Prof. Koki Ho \u0026ndash; School of Aerospace Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Optimal Phasing and Performance Mapping for Translunar Satellite Missions Across the Earth-Moon Nodal Cycle"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2019-12-19 15:16:40","changed_gmt":"2019-12-19 15:17:00","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2019-12-20T09:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2019-12-20T11:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2019-12-20T11:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2019-12-20 14:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2019-12-20 16:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2019-12-20 16:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"111531","name":"ms defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}