Date of Award:
8-2023
Document Type:
Thesis
Degree Name:
Master of Science (MS)
Department:
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Committee Chair(s)
David Geller
Committee
David Geller
Committee
Matthew Harris
Committee
Todd Moon
Abstract
Nova-C is a lunar lander developed by the private company Intuitive Machines to deliver commercial payloads to the Moon. The IM-1 mission set for 2023 will launch and land the Nova-C near the Moon's south pole. In this research, various navigation techniques are explored to determine the lander's position and velocity during key segments. This process is studied for key mission events including trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs), lunar orbit insertion (LOI), and descent orbit insertion (DOI). Each mission segment, referred to as an Orbit Determination Segment (OD), is analyzed with three different navigation techniques: Monte Carlo Analysis, Linear Covariance Analysis, and Dilution of Precision Analysis. The results are matched against each other to validate consistency. The quicker navigation techniques, specifically Linear Covariance and Dilution of Precision, are implemented into a genetic algorithm to determine optimal ground station tracking schedules. Said optimal schedules are optimal with respect to various objectives, including final position errors and operational costs. Operational costs and navigation errors are combined to form a new metric, referred to as Nav-Dollars, that analyzes the trade off between real costs and estimation performance.
Checksum
e7c0dab840910bc4dc37d87ca1209440
Recommended Citation
Moon, Quinn P., "Cislunar Navigation Techniques and Navigation Performance Optimization" (2023). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023. 8848.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/8848
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