Navigation Feasibility Studies for the Europa Orbitor Mission
This paper describes preliminary navigation analyses for the proposed Europa Orbiter mission.
navigation Europa Orbitor Deep Space Network doppl↗
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Results for “Navigation”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Navigating a Robotic Wheelchair in a Railway Station During Rush-Hour
In this paper we describe the hardware design, the control and navigation system, and our preliminary experiments with the robotic wheelchair MAid (Mobility Aid for Elderly and Disabled People).
people↗
Doppler Navigation of Interplanetary Spacecraft Using Different Data Processing Modes
This paper presents an investigation of the navigation accuracy that can be achieved with two-way coherent X-band Doppler phase and frequency data; both theoretical and practical aspects of the two Doppler formulations are addressed.
navigation accuracy↗
Evaluation of stereo vision obstacle detection algorithms for off-road autonomous navigation
Reliable detection of non-traversable hazards is a key requirement for off-road autonomous navigation. A detailed description of each obstacle detection algorithm and their performance on the surveyed obstacle course is presented in this paper.
geometric reasoning↗
Telecommunications IT and navigation for future Mars exploration missions 2006 IEEE Aerospace Conference
There are three primary drivers behind current investments in telecommunications information technology and navigation. One is finding ways to maximize the volume of science data returned from missions since i nstrument data generation often exceeds communication bandwidth. Another is to provide the necessary technology to enable networked spacecraft around Mars. The third driver is to enable more precise landing so in-situ vehicles can be placed in the more scientifically interesting regions. This paper describes the current NASA investments in these areas funded through the NASA Mars Technology Base Program NRA.
data compression↗
Learning for autonomous navigation
Autonomous off-road navigation of robotic ground vehicles has important applications on Earth and in space exploration. Progress in this domain has been retarded by the limited lookahead range of 3-D sensors and by the difficulty of preprogramming systems to understand the traversability of the wide variety of terrain they can encounter.
robotics↗
Mars Odyssey interplanetary navigation strategy
The 2001 Mars Odyssey Mission has returned an orbiter to map the planet and search for water. The success of this mission has reestablished confidence in Mars exploration that will pave the way for future orbiters, landers, adn rovers. The spacecraft has completed its journey and is now in the orbital science-gathering phase of the primary mission, which will continue through August 2004. This paper will describe teh strategy that was designed to safely and accurately navigate the spacecraft to Mars, and also relate the in-flight experience.
Odyssey↗
Cassini tour navigation strategy
This paper describes the strategy for achieving project requirements, the characteristics of the Cassini navigation challenge, and the underlying assumptions.
Cassini↗
The Mars Odyssey navigation experience
The 2001 Mars Odyssey Mission has returned an Orbiter to Mars to map the planet and search for water. This paper will present an overview of the Navigation performance, with a comparison of the pre-launch requirements and expected performance to the in-flight experience.
Mars Odyssey navigation↗
Evolutionary Computing for Low-thrust Navigation
The development of new mission concepts requires efficient methodologies to analyze, design and simulate the concepts before implementation. New mission concepts are increasingly considering the use of ion thrusters for fuel-efficient navigation in deep space. This paper presents parallel, evolutionary computing methods to design trajectories of spacecraft propelled by ion thrusters and to assess the trade-off between delivered payload mass and required flight time. The developed methods utilize a distributed computing environment in order to speed up computation, and use evolutionary algorithms to find globally Pareto-optimal solutions. The methods are coupled with two main traditional trajectory design approaches, which are called direct and indirect. In the direct approach, thrust control is discretized in either arc time or arc length, and the resulting discrete thrust vectors are optimized. In the indirect approach, a thrust control problem is transformed into a costate control problem, and the initial values of the costate vector are optimized. The developed methods are applied to two problems: 1) an orbit transfer around the Earth and 2) a transfer between two distance retrograde orbits around Europa, the closest to Jupiter of the icy Galilean moons. The optimal solutions found with the present methods are comparable to other state-of-the-art trajectory optimizers and to analytical approximations for optimal transfers, while the required computational time is several orders of magnitude shorter than other optimizers thanks to an intelligent design of control vector discretization, advanced algorithmic parameterization, and parallel computing.
optimization↗
A New Centimeter-Level Real-Time Global Navigation and Positioning Capability with GPS
NASA/JPL has developed a new, precise, global, GPS-based capability for real-time terrestrial and space platform navigation. It has been demonstrated on Earth's surface and is 10 times more accurate than other real-time GPS-based systems. The new system poses certain advantages for Earth science remote sensing, including: the onboard generation of science data products in real-time, sensor control and reduction of data transmission bandwidth, improved environmental forecasting, autonomous and intelligent platform control, operations cost savings, and technology transfer and commercial partnership opportunities. The system's measurement capabilities and applications, demonstrated orbit accuracies, and precision LEO and spacecraft positioning and timing are highlighted.
real time↗
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Interplanetary Navigation
This viewgraph presentation reviews the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) interplanetary navigation. An interplanetary overview including dynamic models of outgassing, small force calibration and trending, solar radiation pressure and trajectory correction maneuvers are also described.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)↗
The Next 25 Years of Deep Space Navigation
This paper reviews the most probable set of NASA deep space missions that will be launched in the next twenty-five years, discusses the navigational challenges that will confront them, and outlines the most probable solutions to these challenges.
communications networks↗
The Evolution of Deep Space Navigation: 1962-1989
The exploration of the planets of the solar system using robotic vehicles began in the early 1960s. Over the years that followed, planetary mission objectives became increasingly sophisticated, as the early single-planet flybys gave way to planetary orbiters, multi-planet flybys, and atmospheric entry and landing missions. During this time the navigational capabilities employed in these missions increased greatly in accuracy, as required by the scientific objectives of the missions and as enabled by improvements in technology.
space navigation↗
Navigation Between Geosynchronous and Lunar L1 Orbiters
Linked Autonomous Interplanetary Satellite Orbit Navigation (LiAISON) is a new technique that takes advantage of the asymmetrical gravity field present in a three-body system in order to perform absolute tracking of satellites using only relative satellite-to-satellite observations. Previous studies have demonstrated LiAISON's practical applications for lunar missions, including a satellite in a halo orbit about either the Earth-Moon L1 or L2 point. This paper studies the viability of applying LiAISON measurements between a lunar halo orbiter and a satellite in a geosynchronous orbit. Simulations demonstrate that the absolute positions and velocities of both satellites are observable using only relative measurements with an achieved uncertainty on the order of observation noise.
low-energy↗
Navigation of the Twin GRAIL Spacecraft into Science Formation at the Moon
On February 29, 2012 the twin NASA Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft, Ebb and flow, achieved precise synchronized formation for collecting highly sensitive lunar gravity data. This was accomplished after performing a total of 27 propulsive maneuvers between the two spacecraft (13 on Ebb, 14 on Flow) over six months. Each 300 kg GRAIL spacecraft independently flew a 3.8-month, low-energy trajectory to reach the Moon after separation from the launch vehicle on September 10, 2011. The space craft were captured into 11.5 hr co- planar polar orbits after performing Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) maneuvers on New Years Eve (Dec 31, 2011) and New Years Day (Jan 1, 2012), respectively for Ebb, and Flow. Once captured, each spacecraft performed clusters of period reduction maneuvers to bring their orbit periods down to just less than 2 hrs. Finally, the orbiters we replaced into science formation by performing five strategic maneuvers (2 on Ebb, 3 on Flow). These maneuvers ensured 3 months of orbit life time with mean altitudes of 55 km and separations of 82-217 km by targeting the orbits' eccentricity vectors to specific locations. This paper will discuss the navigation strategy and performance of the twin GRAIL spacecraft from the September 10, 2011 launch through the end of the Prime Mission Science Phase in June 2012.
lunar gravity↗
Orbit Transfers for Dawn's Vesta Operations : Navigation and Mission Design Experience
Dawn, a mission belonging to NASA's Discovery Program, was launched on September 27, 2007 to explore main belt asteroids in order to yield insights into important questions about the formation and evolution of the solar system. From July of 2011 to August of 2012, the Dawn spacecraft successfully returned valuable science data, collected during the four planned mapping orbits at its first target asteroid, Vesta. Each mapping orbit was designed to enable a different set of scientific observations. Such a mission would have been impossible without the low thrust ion propulsion system (IPS). Maneuvering a spacecraft using only the IPS for the transfers between the mapping orbits posed many technical challenges to Dawn's flight team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Each transfer needs a robust plan that accounts for uncertainties in maneuver execution, orbit determination, and physical characteristics of Vesta. This paper discusses the mission design and navigational experience during Dawn's Vesta operations. Topics include requirements and constraints from Dawn's science and spacecraft teams, orbit determination and maneuver design and building process for transfers, developing timelines for thrust sequence build cycles, and the process of scheduling very demanding coverage with ground antennae at NASA's Deep Space Network.
low thrust↗
Use of Reference Frames for Interplanetary Navigation at JPL
Navigation of interplanetary spacecraft is typically based on range, Doppler, and differential interferometric measurements made by ground-based telescopes. Acquisition and interpretation of these observations requires accurate knowledge of the terrestrial reference frame and its orientation with respect to the celestial frame. Work is underway at JPL to reprocess historical VLBI and GPS data to improve realizations of the terrestrial and celestial frames. Improvements include minimal constraint alignment, improved tropospheric modeling, better orbit determination, and corrections for antenna phase center patterns.
International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF)↗