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| Volume 29 Number 7 |
May / June 2004 |
Lunch-and-Learns
By Douglas Yazell, Vice Chair Technical
On Friday, May 14, 2004, Dr. Jiann-Woei Jang (Draper Lab) gave a presentation
on Applied Spacecraft Control-A Constrained Optimization Approach. He
included an historical overview of control systems design, with a photo of
the famous Mr. Bode with familiar faces such as Abe Silverstein and Robert
Gilruth. The presentation included a computer animation showing Orbiter
Tile Inspection and Repair (OTIR). The shuttle orbiter grappled the space
station using a robotic arm and then rotated for complete visual inspection,
then moved into position for tile repair. The control effectors in this
example were the space station control moment gyroscopes. The event sponsor
was the EVA committee, chaired by Bill West (Hamilton Sundstrand).
On Tuesday, June 8, 2004, Dr. S. Fredrickson (NASA) will present Mini
Autonomous Extravehicular Robotic Camera (AERCam,
http://aercam.nasa.gov),
in JSC bldg. 16, rooms 111 & 113. This event is sponsored by our section's
Propulsion & Power Systems technical committee, chaired by Andrew Petro
(NASA). Members include Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz (NASA) and Mr. Norman Chaffee
and Mr. Guy Thibodaux (both NASA, retired).
A LnL is tentatively set for mid-June on the subject of Trajectory
Optimization, sponsored by our section's Astrodynamics technical
committee, chaired by Dr. Albert Jackson, a Lockheed Martin engineer and
a visiting scientist at the Lunar Planetary Institute. The speaker is
Mr. Christopher D'Souza (Draper Lab). He provided a short description of his
planned presentation. "The seminar will be an introduction to trajectory
optimization. It will have a (brief) history of trajectory optimization
starting with the first recorded optimization problem. The general trajectory
optimization will be motivated and then posed. The necessary conditions
will be presented (but not derived!). An example ascent vehicle trajectory
optimization will be presented. Current research will be touched upon."
We have as many as five additional LnL's in work, so keep your eye on future
issues of Horizons and www.aiaa-houston.org.
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