Program Goal
Develop critical technologies (architectures, methodologies,
hardware and software components) for precision control of collaborative
distributed spacecraft systems, enabling a new class of mission
architecture with the potential of achieving unprecedented science
performance.
Technical Objectives
- Develop a system of methods, architectures, algorithms and
software for autonomous precision control (mm-cm, arcsec-arcmin)
of constellations, fleets and formation flying spacecraft.
- Formation guidance algorithms for robust/efficient
formation initialization.
- Demonstrate integrated FF guidance & control
algorithms in an end-to-end visual demonstration
of formation maneuvers, in a distributed simulation
environment
- Develop a high precision metrology system with nanometer
resolution and multi-kilometer ambiguity range.
- A high-precision, high-dynamic range, flight-qualifiable
interferometric absolute metrology gauge using Modulation
Sideband Technology for Absolute Ranging (MSTAR) that
will bridge the gap between the existing fine and coarseregions and
therefore enable ranging accuracy 4 orders of magnitude
better than the current state-of-the-art
- Develop architectures, algorithms and software for high-fidelity
and real-time simulation of formation flying missions (HYDRA). Infuse
into missions for development and testing of flight control
algorithms, flight software, and mission concepts.
- Demonstrate hierarchical, multi-timescale simulation
in a distributed environment. Infuse HYDRA technology
into TPF/FAST testbed.
- Demonstrate time-warp capability for extended mission
segment analysis. Demonstrate real-time capability.
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