The GMAT development team is pleased to announce the release of GMAT version R2020a. The binaries are available here. New features in this release include a new 3D graphics engine based on OpenFrames, the first production-quality C++ release of the Collocation Stand-Alone Library and Toolkit (CSALT), a new optimal control subsystem that supports finite-thrust optimization, a new (beta) API developed to provide users low-level access to GMAT functionality and to support interoperability between NASA's GMAT, Copernicus, and MONTE software applications, a new continuous thrust mission design and navigation feature, and a new (alpha) Extended Kalman Filter Smoother with process noise. For a complete list of new features, compatibility changes, and bug fixes, see the Release Notes In recent news, we are excited to report that GMAT continues to see significant adoption for operational mission support: - On May 1, 2018, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) project held an Operational Readiness Review (ORR) to evaluate GMAT as a replacement for GTDS as the primary operational orbit determination (OD) tool for LRO. GMAT was approved for this purpose at this ORR and LRO began using GMAT for operational OD in June 2018.
- In April 2018, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission launched. TESS used GMAT as its primary tool for mission design and maneuver planning from proposal development through operations. For more information about TESS, including a discussion of how GMAT was used, see the published paper at https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20180006156.
- The GMAT team is currently developing an Extended Kalman Filter Smoother (EKFS) orbit determination capability for future release. A publicly available version of GMAT, with EKFS capabilities for all data types supported by GMAT, is planned for the R2021a release.
- The GMAT team is currently integrating CSALT into GSFC's Core Flight System (cFS) to demonstrate the ability to perform optimal control onboard.
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