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StatusOngoing
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Status date2024-07-30
The ASTOS software is a commercial product with co-funding by ESA. It has been developed in the past decades from a trajectory optimization software towards a multi-purpose software for mission design, mission analysis, concurrent launch vehicle design, system concept analysis, launch & re-entry safety analysis, DKE simulator for SVFs, HILs and SCOE as well as a versatile utility for GNC design.
The project aims to extend ASTOS by dedicated functionalities for the design and analysis of communication satellites and constellations. It addresses in particular New Space applications looking into fast design cycles, user flexibility and most complete coverage of user needs.
The project faces technical challenges due to the intricate and flexible nature of the new functionalities within MOST. Integrating these features into ASTOS, a highly complex software, disrupts its existing architecture. Scripting and switching functions, though powerful, pose testing and qualification difficulties due to their flexibility. Developing fast surrogate models for optimization tasks presents a challenge for the sizing function, requiring realism for feasible designs at the same time. Keeping the flexibility of the legacy coverage analysis of ASTOS while adding functionality and enhancing performance proves to be challenging.
The ultimate goal is to ensure that the resulting product surpasses competitors, compelling potential customers to choose ASTOS over other software options. It should:
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Streamline communication constellation design, minimizing iterations.
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Deliver rapid initial results without extensive training.
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Address future needs for satellite and constellation design and analysis.
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Exhibit strong performance in short trial periods.
The extended ASTOS is ready for the satellite communication market, particularly for the emerging NewSpace sector.
The ASTOS software comprises a huge library of environment and spacecraft models including their dynamics. A flexible set of analysis and optimization features makes it suitable for a wide range of engineering tasks for all development phases. New features of ASTOS that have been developed in the MOST project are:
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A module to perform combined constellation and satellite system and subsystem sizing, considering payload demands as well as subsystem mass, power and volume demands. A database of real equipment serves as basis for the estimations, leading to a preliminary design that comprises recommendations for suitable flight proven units.
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An extended high-performance coverage analysis that is able to consider all relevant aspects of the coverage definition as well as routing problems and link requirements (incl. link set up times). High performance is obtained by massive parallelization implemented into the GPU-based computation engine.
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A scripting functionality that increases the flexibility of ASTOS in terms of output data, custom model dependencies and configurability.
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A switching function that is based on the scripting functionality. It allows for a flexible mission timeline with responsive sensor activation and attitude modes, making ASTOS an ideal basis for mission simulators and other operational simulation tools.
The developments in the MOST project build on the existing architecture of the ASTOS software, with some new modules.
ASTOS consists of three main parts: the aerospace model library, the simulation and optimization core and the GUI.
The simulation and optimization core is responsible to simulate the dynamics of the defined scenario and writes the results into simulation files. It comprises several optimization techniques used for trajectory optimization and concurrent vehicle design.
The model library provides hundreds of spacecraft component and environment models, dynamics equations, analysis functions, constraints and objective functions from which the user can select to build up the scenario.
The GUI is used to configure scenarios, control and monitor simulation or optimization processes and to analyse results. Latter is supported by built-in plotting, animation and automatic report generation capabilities.
The new satellite and constellation sizing function as well as the coverage analysis are located in dedicated modules but their configuration is fully integrated into the ASTOS GUI.
The scripting and switching function are fully integrated into the ASTOS model library. For their configuration, the ASTOS GUI is extended
The MOST project comprises two phases: a technology phase and a product phase. The technology phase consists of requirements engineering, software design and functional implementation of the new ASTOS features. The product phase is dedicated to verification & validation.
The project has been kicked-off beginning of April 2024 and has reached the Software Requirements Review.
