Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

Earth’s orbital environment is becoming increasingly populated with large satellite constellations operated by a diverse range of stakeholders. Opportunities for interconstellation cooperation increase as more satellites enter orbit. It is shown that smaller constellations benefit greatly from cooperation with larger constellations, while larger constellations experience diminishing, but non-negl…

With NASA’s current plans to establish a long-term cislunar presence through the lunar space station, Gateway, there is a significant interest in exploring potential missions that either conclude at or originate from the Gateway. Gateway will be placed in an Earth–Moon L2 southern near-rectilinear halo orbit and will act as a staging outpost for Moon-based missions and beyond. Several proposed mi…

A numerical study of a generic projectile with a solid base at Mach 2 is used to highlight the impact of fins on the wake across a range of roll and pitch angles from zero to 12 deg. To accommodate this wide range of parameters, with and without fins, the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations are solved with a realizable [Formula: see text] turbulence model and validated against available exp…

Touchless potential sensing allows a servicing spacecraft to determine the electrostatic potential of a nearby target without physical contact. This enables safer docking conditions and electrostatic actuation. While previous studies demonstrate that secondary electron and photoelectron emissions can be used to determine the potential of a target, the emissions may only be observable at 10% of lo…

Identification and characterization of the maximum and integrated aerothermal loads drive the thermal management and thermal protection systems in the design of hypersonic vehicles. External vehicle geometry, reentry or mission profile, and attitude control can impart important changes to unsteady thermal loading. The accurate characterization of maximum and time-integrated thermal load represent…

To investigate the plume flowfield and thermal environment of heavy-lift launch vehicles, a numerical model for a nine-nozzle launch vehicle was established based on the three-dimensional compressible Navier–Stokes equations, the Realizable [Formula: see text] turbulence model, the DOM radiation model, and a finite-rate chemical kinetics model. The study indicates that as the rocket ascends, the …

Space-based observer constellations can circumvent the shortfalls of ground-based observations. With a greater proliferation of space objects in cislunar space anticipated in the near future, custody retention, object registration, and tracking become paramount for safe and secure operations. Determination of tracking feasibility requires an in-depth analysis of sensor models, target observabilit…

The attitude control of a spacecraft is integral to achieving mission success. However, failures in actuators such as reaction wheels are detrimental and can often lead to an early end of mission. We propose a Lyapunov-based adaptive controller that can estimate and compensate for reaction wheels degradation simultaneously. The controller incorporates an adaptive update control law with a gradien…

Covers advancements in spacecraft and tactical and strategic missile systems, including subsystem design and application, mission design and analysis, materials and structures, developments in space sciences, space processing and manufacturing, space operations, and applications of space technologies to other fields.

Covers advancements in spacecraft and tactical and strategic missile systems, including subsystem design and application, mission design and analysis, materials and structures, developments in space sciences, space processing and manufacturing, space operations, and applications of space technologies to other fields.

Designing satellite constellation systems involves complex multidisciplinary optimization in which coverage serves as a primary driver of overall system cost and performance. Among the various design considerations, constellation configuration, which dictates how satellites are placed and distributed in space relative to each other, predominantly determines the resulting coverage. In constellatio…

This study investigated distributed-roughness-induced instability and boundary-layer transition in high-speed boundary layers using direct numerical simulation, BiGlobal linear stability analysis, and plane-marching parabolized stability equations. Sinusoidal roughness patterns with different wavelengths and freestream Mach numbers were examined. Despite changes in the geometric parameters of the…

Pyrotechnic devices are commonly used in launch vehicles and space vehicles to separate hardware at events throughout a launch. These pyrotechnic devices are reliable, but they transmit stress waves throughout the separated structures. Mission success relies on accurate knowledge of the vehicles shock environments required to ensure sensitive components can survive the shock event. Shock analysis…

Shock loading is defined as a sudden and intense application of a force to a structure. The shock force is characterized by its high magnitude and short duration, resulting in a rapid change in the structure’s strain and stress state that can cause damage. Accurate prediction of the dynamic response due to shock loading has been a NASA and industry priority for the last several decades. Shock env…

An experimental investigation of the hypersonic wake behind the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) wind tunnel model in a Mach 10 freestream is discussed. Wake visualization was performed using planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of nitric oxide (NO), which was locally seeded into the wake through the aft body of the model. PLIF measurements are reported at all…

Great challenges in real-time robust control have been put forward in asteroid exploration in recent years. To deal with the complicated environment full of uncertainties and to satisfy the position as well as attitude requirements of the mission, a convex approach is proposed for stochastic six-degree-of-freedom (six-DOF) trajectories near asteroids. A stochastic six-DOF dynamic model based on m…

Well-integrated systems and structures can increase reliability and decrease structural complexity for deployable spacecraft structures. This study investigated the feasibility of a self-deployable space baffle design inspired by the spiral structure of a volute spring. The principles of storing and releasing elastic potential energy within a volute spring were applied to the new baffle design, r…

MOCAT-SSEM is an open-source source–sink evolutionary population model that predicts the low-Earth-orbit (LEO) space population. It divides resident space objects into families using a predefined set of parameters that determine change in population. However, these parameters are highly sensitive to initial conditions, and the SSEM estimate quickly diverges from higher-fidelity, but computational…

Millimeter-level surface flatness is critical for spaceborne synthetic aperture radar deployable planar antennas to ensure high-resolution imaging performance. This study addresses the core challenge of maintaining flatness accuracy under multisource disturbances–including manufacturing/assembly errors and joint clearance–in a [Formula: see text] carbon-fiber-reinforced antenna with honeycomb pan…

The space environment is undergoing rapid changes with the emergence of new commercial capabilities, and the development of new technologies to improve space sustainability is imperative. In this context, a comprehensive numerical analysis has been performed to investigate the aerodynamic behavior of a deployable reentry system. In the present investigation, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and…