SpaceNet: Modeling and Simulating Space Logistics

AIAA SPACE 2011 Conference &Amp; Exposition

2011

Self Cite

The future of space exploration will not be limited to sortie-style missions to single destinations. Even in present exploration taking place at the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit, logistics is complicated by flights arriving from five launch sites on Earth. The future challenges of space logistics given complex campaigns of interconnected missions in deep space will require innovative tools to aid planning and conceptual design. This paper presents a modeling framework to evaluate the propulsive and logistics feasibility of space exploration from the macro-logistics perspective, which covers the delivery of elements and resources to support demands generated during exploration. The modeling framework is implemented in a versatile and unifying software tool, SpaceNet, for general space exploration scenario analysis. Four space exploration scenarios are presented as application cases to highlight the applicability of the framework across vastly different scenarios. The first case investigates the resupply of the International Space Station between 2010 and 2015 using 77 missions combining NASA, European Space Agency, Japanese Space Agency, Russian Space Agency, and commercial space transportation. The second case models a lunar outpost build-up consisting of 17 flights to achieve continuous human presence over eight years. The third case models and evaluates a conceptual sortie-style mission to a near-Earth object, 1999 AO10. Finally, the fourth case models a flexible path type human exploration in the vicinity of Mars using a combination of human and tele-operated exploration. Taken together these cases demonstrate the challenges and logistical requirements of future human space exploration campaigns during the period from 2010-2050 and illustrate the ability of SpaceNet to model and simulate the feasibility of meeting these requirements.

Section: Space Logistics Modeling Framework and Spacenet Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Space Logistics Modeling and Simulation Analysis using SpaceNet: Four Application Cases

Grogan

Yue

AIAA SPACE 2011 Conference &Amp; Exposition

2011

Self Cite

“…Crew availability is explicitly a function of the number of crew at the exploration site and the fraction of time each crew member can devote to exploration activities, α i [53]. It is also therefore implicitly a function of availability of the various supply items (including crew provisions, crew operations equipment, waste management) which are needed to maintain crew health and safety.…”

Section: Crew Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It concludes with a summary of contributions. The goal of SpaceNet is to allow a user to model and evaluate an exploration mission as an interplanetary supply chain with the purpose of answering key logistics questions [8]. These answers provide insight into the bottlenecks in the transportation architecture, strategies to maximize exploration capability, and the impact of uncertainty on logistics strategies.…”

Section: Thesis Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cargo Revenue Management for Space Logistics

Armar

AIAA SPACE 2009 Conference &Amp; Exposition

2009

Self Cite

This thesis covers the development of a framework for the application of revenue management, specifically capacity control, to space logistics for use in the optimization of mission cargo allocations, which in turn affect duration, infrastructure availability, and forward logistics. Two capacity control algorithms were developed; the first is based on partitioning of Monte Carlo samples while the second is based on bid-pricing with high-frequency price adjustments. The algorithms were implemented in Java as a plugin module to SpaceNet 2.0, an existing integrated modeling and simulation tool for space logistics. The module was tested on a lunar exploration concept which emphasizes global exploration of the Moon using mobile infrastructure. Results suggest that revenue management produces better capacity allocations in shorter duration missions, while producing nominal capacity allocations (i.e. those in the deterministic case) in the long run.

“…2 The revised version of SpaceNet abstracted portions of the existing software model to create a more modular architecture created a more modular code structure, but the majority of sub-routines were still accessed by a one central file (See Figure 1b).…”

Section: A Underlying Software Architecturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 There is also interest to provide a improved support for building and analyzing more general exploration scenarios including long-duration, multi-flight campaigns, with multiple destinations and exploration sites at diverse locations in the solar system. …”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Flexible Architecture and Object-Oriented Model for Space Logistics Simulation

AIAA SPACE 2009 Conference &Amp; Exposition

Armar

Grogan

et al. 2009

Self Cite

This paper summarizes the motivation for and the resulting development of a flexible object-oriented software model for simulation and analysis of space exploration campaign logistics. The software model was designed to be applicable to several widely-varying use case scenarios including International Space Station resupply, support for a long-term lunar outpost and global lunar exploration, and Martian exploration by human and robotic agents. The model includes analysis capability for exploration sustainability topics including reusability, reconfigurability, commonality, and repairability. Key additional features include modular demand models that are easily interchanged, element-level models for finegrained demand integration, and reconfigurable system operational states to dynamically change demand models. Other capabilities include generalized impulsive burn maneuvers, surface transportation, abstracted flight transportation, improved support for multidestination scenarios, and multi-user collaboration via online databases. Nomenclature COTS