Optimal Constellation Design for Orbital Munitions Delivery System

Abstract

Rather than delivering conventional munitions through the airspace of uncooperative nations, a constellation of space-stored weapons could potentially target any point on the Earth and arrive within the time it takes to de-orbit and re-enter through the atmosphere. The research involves applying the dynamics of atmospheric re-entry to a Common Aero Vehicle (CAV) and defining a footprint of attainable touchdown points. The footprint is moved forward to create a swath representing all the possible touchdown points in a 90 minute window. A nominal constellation of CAVs is established using a streets of coverage technique, and both analytic studies and numeric genetic algorithm techniques are used to modify the nominal constellation. A minimum number of CAVs is identified which ensures payload delivery to an area of interest within 90 minutes.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA424273

Entities

People

  • Jason Anderson

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerospace Craft
  • Algorithms
  • Atmospheres
  • Constellation Design
  • Constellations
  • Dynamics
  • Genetic Algorithms
  • Heuristic Methods
  • Hypersonic Reentry Vehicles
  • Munitions
  • Payload
  • Vehicles
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Autonomous Systems
  • Biotechnology
  • Biotechnology - Bioremediation
  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris
  • Space - Satellites
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers