Downrange
The aerospace engineering firm a.i. solutions has provided a solution that meets the community requirements to analyze the operational impact of space debris on space platforms.
The company conducted an analysis of the operational impact of debris from the 2007 Fengyun-1C Chinese anti-satellite test (ASAT) on NASA’s satellites, including the earth science constellation (ESC).
“The physical sizes used are typical of the debris catalogs maintained by the Air Force. Sizes range from 10 square centimeters and up. The number of debris objects analyzed was about 2,200. We used every item tracked at that time identified as originating from the Fengyun-1C ASAT test,” David Rand, systems engineer, a.i. solutions, told MSMF.
a.i. solutions configured its COTS FreeFlyer to perform in a clustered, high performance computing (HPC) environment. Using Microsoft Windows HPC solutions, FreeFlyer and 10 clustered computers, a 20-year analysis was completed in less than three days—and showed the satellite debris will continue to remain a threat to NASA’s ESC in the near future.
“The cluster we used, given the hardware available, accelerated computation by about eight times. More hardware would increase this. So if the same computations were executed on a single PC, it would have taken about 24 days. A single PC really is the computing environment. It is how we have done things up to now—one analyst running simulations on his or her desktop PC. Mainframes have not been used in our industry for many years,” Rand concluded.
Caroline Noonan,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
ABL Milestone Achieved
Boeing, industry teammates and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency fired a high-energy laser through the Airborne Laser’s (ABL) beam control/fire control system, completing the first ground test of the entire weapon system integrated aboard the aircraft. During the test at Edwards Air Force Base, the laser beam traveled through the beam control/fire control system before exiting the aircraft through the nose-mounted turret. The beam control/fire control system steered and focused the beam onto a simulated ballistic-missile target.
Michael Rinn, Boeing vice president and ABL program director, said the next step for the program is a series of longerduration laser firings through the beam control/fire control system. “Once we complete those tests, we will begin demonstrating the entire weapon system in flight,” Rinn said in a statement made available to MSMF.
Marc Selinger,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
KEI Rocket Motor Meets Test Milestone
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) successfully test-fired a kinetic energy interceptors (KEI) firststage solid rocket motor at its Promontory, Utah, facility. The KEI weapon system, under development by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), represents the next generation of high-speed missile defense, enabling a mobile capability that can address multiple classes of threats.
This test was performed at cold temperatures to simulate rocket motor performance in one of several possible launch environments, reported the company. Because of its mobility, KEI is planned to be capable of launching in multiple climates around the world. ATK recently conducted a successful second-stage KEI test that was also performed at similar temperatures. These tests will lead to a full booster flight scheduled for this year.
Northrop Grumman is leading an industry team to work with MDA on the development and test program. Raytheon Co. is responsible for developing and integrating the KEI system’s interceptor. ATK will supply KEI’s rocket motor propulsion systems.
Trina Patterson,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
♦