DCM Research Resources LLC

2009

Accomplishments:  Results of a space situational awareness study were demonstrated using GMAT. 

(Chen, G., et. al., “Awareness-Based Game-Theoretic Space Resource Management,”Sensors and Systems for Space Applications III, edited by Joseph L. Cox, Pejmun Motaghedi, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7330, 73300P)

Impact:  GMAT used as part of a simulation platform for a space situational awareness study.

University of California

2010

Accomplishments:  GMAT is one of the mission design and navigation tools used for the THEMIS mission.  “THEMIS – a five-spacecraft constellation – is a NASA Medium Explorer mission that was launched in 2007 and maneuvered into synchronized, highly elliptical Earth orbits to study magnetospheric physics leading to the appearance of the aurora borealis.”

(Bester, M., et. al., “Operations Planning and Mission Readiness Testing for the THEMIS Spacecraft Constellation,” IEEEAC paper #1408, IEEE, 2010)

Impact:  GMAT is one of the tools used to help a university operate a five-spacecraft constellation.

University of Colorado

2010

Accomplishments:  GMAT was used to help demonstrate the validity of a science targeting scheme for a proposed flagship mission.  A star target selection scheme for the proposed New Worlds Observer mission, a libration point orbit mission whose goal is to image planets within the habitable zones of stars beyond our solar system, was developed. 

(Cheetham, B., et. al., “INVESTIGATION OF TARGET SELECTION SCHEMES FOR A SPACE TELESCOPE-OCCULTER SYSTEM IN THE SUN-EARTH L2 REGIME,” AAS 10-165,  Advances in the Astronautical Sciences Volume 136, 2010)

Impact:  GMAT used to validate a science targeting scheme.

Iowa State University

2011

Accomplishments:  GMAT was used as part of an asteroid impact study.  High-energy nuclear disruption/fragmentation is an option for mitigating the most probable impact threat of near-Earth objects (NEOs) with a short warning time.  GMAT is one of three tools used to precisely calculate the trajectory of many fragmented bodies in order to calculate collision probabilities. 

(Pitz, A., et. al., “EARTH-IMPACT PROBABILITY COMPUTATION OF DISRUPTED ASTEROID FRAGMENTS USING GMAT/STK/CODES,” AAS 11-408)

Impact:  This research will be used to help produce a “robust software system for assessing the consequence of a high-energy nuclear disruption mission for mitigating the impact threat of hazardous NEOs.”

Texas A&M University

2011

Accomplishments:   A MMS formation optimization method, in the presence of formation initialization errors, was verified using GMAT. 

(Roscoe, C., W., T.,  et. al., “Optimal Formation Design for Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission Using Differential Orbital Elements,” Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 34, No. 4, July–August 2011, pp. 1070-1080.)

Impact:  The MMS project has access to additional validated formation optimization methods. 

European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)

2012

Accomplishments:  EUMETSAT used GMAT to perform a mission design study for their proposed next generation of polar weather satellites.  EUMETSAT currently operates a fleet of weather satellites in both polar and geostationary orbits.  A further description of the EUMETSAT mission is given on their website (http://www.eumetsat.int/):

We operate a system of meteorological satellites that observe the atmosphere and ocean and land surfaces – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This data is supplied to the National Meteorological Services of the organisation's Member and Cooperating States in Europe, as well as other users worldwide.

The service provided by EUMETSAT helps to enhance and safeguard the daily lives of European citizens. They aid meteorologists in identifying and monitoring the development of potentially dangerous weather situations and in issuing timely forecasts and warnings to emergency services and local authorities, helping to mitigate the effects of severe weather and protecting human life and property.

This information is also critical to the safety of air travel, shipping and road traffic, and to the daily business of farming, construction and many other industries.

EUMETSAT used GMAT, coupled with some matlab tools they developed, to perform a Timeliness study for their proposed new fleet of polar satellites, the  EUMETSAT Polar System Second Generation (EPS-SG), to be deployed in the 2021 time frame.  Timeliness is defined as the time between when an observation is made and when the end data product is available to the user.

Impact:  GMAT helped a major international intergovernmental organization perform a mission design study for their next generation of polar weather satellites. 

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne

2012

Accomplishments:   GMAT was one of four tools used to perform a detailed solar electric propulsion study which analyzed various propellant options for three sample missions.  GMAT was used for relatively high fidelity mission point designs and trajectory analysis verification as well as trajectory visualization. 

(Kokan, Joyner II, C., “Mission Comparison of Hall Effect and Gridded Ion Thrusters Utilizing Various Propellant Options,” AIAA 2012-5237, AIAA SPACE 2012 Conference & Exposition, 11 - 13 September 2012, Pasadena, California)

Impact:  GMAT used to help verify some results of a solar electric propulsion study.

University of Colorado

2013

Accomplishments:  An analytical method is used to find geosynchronous disposal orbits where the solar radiation pressure induced eccentricity perturbation is minimized.  GMAT is used to evaluate the evolution of these supersynchronous disposal orbits using a higher fidelity force model. 

(Jones, S., Negating the Yearly Eccentricity Magnitude Variation of Super-synchronous Disposal Orbits due to Solar Radiation Pressure,” Masters thesis, University of Colorado, 2013 )

Impact: GMAT is used to evaluate new possible geosynchronous disposal orbits. 

Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

2013

Accomplishments:  This thesis develops a conceptual design for a Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) stage for Earth-Moon cargo transfer missions.  GMAT is used extensively to verify trajectories obtained from the mission analysis program used in this study. 

(Bos, R., et. al., “Conceptual System Design of a Solar Electric Propulsion Stage for Earth-Moon Cargo Transfer Missions,” Masters Thesis, Delft University of Technology, January 17, 2013.)

Impact:  GMAT is used to verify SEP Earth-Moon transfer trajectories. 

Tartu Observatory, Estonia,

University of Applied Science Aachen, Germany,

NanoSpace AB, Sweden

2014

Accomplishments:  The design for a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology based miniaturized cold gas propulsion module for cubesat type missions is presented.  GMAT is used to simulate a number of low earth orbit mission scenarios: natural deorbiting, orbit raising and lowering maneuvers, and station-keeping. 

(Kvell, U., et. al., “Nanosatellite orbit control using MEMS cold gas thrusters,” Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, 2014, 63, 2S, 279–285, 2014)

Impact: GMAT is used as a software simulation platform to test a new propulsion module design. 

University of California

2014

Accomplishments:  Goddard used GMAT to help design and optimize the ARTEMIS trajectories.  As the operator of the two ARTEMIS probes, the University of California needed to exchange mission data with Goddard.  ARTEMIS is an extension mission, using two of the five THEMIS spacecraft, that studied the lunar environment. 

(Bester, M., et. al., “ARTEMIS Operations – Experiences and Lessons Learned,” IEEE, 2014)

Impact:  GMAT is used to design and optimize the ARTEMIS extension mission.  As part of this effort, the University of California built a software interface to GMAT to improve the communication of mission design and navigation data between the university and NASA Goddard. 

Foresight Wireless,

University of North Carolina

2014

Accomplishments:  This paper analyzes a specific method of IP-based routing for military satellite ad hoc networks, called Dynamic Autonomous Routing Technology (DART).  A simulation, where GMAT is used as the orbit propagator, is performed using the IRIDIUM constellation as an example.  

(Wang, X., et. al., “Dynamic Autonomous Routing Technology for IP-based Satellite Ad Hoc Networks,” Sensors and Systems for Space Applications VII, edited by Khanh D. Pham, Joseph L. Cox, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9085, 90850P, 2014)

Impact:  With help from GMAT, a DART LEO/MEO Satellite Ad Hoc Network Simulator that can be used to analyze routing performance is built. 

Scientific Systems Company,

University of Illinois,

AFRL

2014

Accomplishments:  An intercept maneuver algorithm is simulated using GMAT.  The algorithm developed used Liapunov methods to solve the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) intercept maneuver problem in terms of game-theoretic capture-evasion guaranteed strategies.

(Zatezalo, A., et. al., “Constrained orbital intercept-evasion,” Sensors and Systems for Space Applications VII, edited by Khanh D. Pham, Joseph L. Cox, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9085, 90850E)

Impact:  GMAT used as part of a simulation platform to analyze an intercept maneuver algorithm.

Millennium Space Systems, Inc.,

AFRL,

Raytheon/Photon Research Associates,

Schafer Corporation,

CENTRA Technology,

DARPA

2014

Accomplishments:  An architecture to add ground based optical data to other data sources to improve Space Situational Awareness is developed.  GMAT is used for orbit propagation of both the target satellites and the sensor platform as part of a simulation using this architecture. 

(Koblick, D., et. al., GROUND OPTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING ARCHITECTURE FOR CONTRIBUTING SPACE-BASED SSA SENSOR DATA,” http://www.amostech.com/TechnicalPapers/2014/Sensor_Processing/KOBLICK.pdf)

Impact:  GMAT is used to help verify a GROUND OPTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING ARCHITECTURE (GOSPA).