Launch Trajectory Blackout Interval Calculation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for determining launch windows to avoid close approaches between launch vehicles and objects in orbit are inefficient, requiring extensive computations and increasing latency as the number of potential launch sites increases, making it impractical to accurately identify blackout intervals across a large launch area.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize filters to eliminate non-candidate objects and calculate close approaches based on launch time within a given window, allowing for the determination of blackout intervals in a single run, using the Earth-Centered Earth-Fixed (ECEF) reference frame and satellite databases to assess potential launch trajectories from anywhere within a specified area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple launch sites are used to cover a specified area, then the accuracy of blackout interval determination is improved, but the computational load and latency increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The specified launch area is divided into multiple discrete launch sites, allowing the computational problem to be broken down into manageable segments. Each launch site is analyzed independently to determine its specific blackout intervals, rather than attempting to analyze the entire continuous area at once. This segmentation enables accurate determination of blackout intervals for each site while keeping individual computational loads manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The blackout intervals determined for multiple individual launch sites are merged and combined to establish comprehensive blackout intervals for the entire specified area. By aggregating the results from multiple site-specific analyses, the system achieves area-wide coverage and accuracy without requiring an infeasible computational analysis of the entire continuous space.
2Measurement precision
If the number of launch sites within the area is increased, then the accuracy of close approach analysis is improved, but the latency of the analysis increases
Solution Approach 1:
Launch sites are pre-identified and discretized within the specified area before the actual launch planning process. This preliminary segmentation of the launch area into discrete sites allows the system to have a ready-made computational framework in place, reducing the latency when actual blackout interval determinations are needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous launch area is segmented into discrete launch sites, transforming an unmanageable continuous optimization problem into a series of discrete, solvable sub-problems. This segmentation enables the system to achieve high accuracy in close approach analysis by considering multiple discrete sites while avoiding the computational latency that would result from analyzing every possible continuous position.
3Productivity
If a single run calculation is used for the entire launch area, then the productivity is improved, but the measurement precision may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The launch area is segmented into discrete launch sites that serve as representative sampling points. By performing calculations for these discrete sites rather than attempting continuous coverage, the system achieves a practical balance between computational speed and accuracy. The segmented approach allows single-run calculations for each site while maintaining sufficient precision for launch decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of performing a single comprehensive calculation for the entire continuous area, the system creates representative copies or models of launch trajectories from discrete launch sites. These copied trajectory models from representative sites provide sufficiently accurate blackout interval information without requiring an impossibly complex single calculation covering every possible launch position.
Data Source
AI summary
Determining a launch window from anywhere within a specified area to avoid or minimize close approaches between a launch vehicle and orbiting space objects. A method and apparatus is disclosed for minimizing close approaches, or conjunctions between spacecraft being launched from anywhere within a specified area and other objects in space during the launch and early deployment phase of their lifetime, by defining a launch window, utilizing and identifying launch window blackout times to avoid close approaches of launch trajectories from anywhere within an area with remaining objects in space as noted in a space object catalog.