4/8/2013 Written by Susan Mumm
Written by Written by Susan Mumm
AE senior design teams once again did well in the 2009 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics design competition, taking second and third places, following an AE sweep of first, second and third in the 2008 AIAA competition.
The goal of the project, “Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) System Design,” was to design a transportation system to provide a COTS solution for servicing the International Space Station. This transportation system was to have the capability to transport both cargo and crew between Earth and the ISS. The specific requirements for this project were adapted from NASA requirements for the COTS program.
The transportation system was to be ready for a first flight in 2012. Therefore, teams had to carefully consider current technology readiness levels for new technologies to be integrated into vehicle design. Design decisions were to include selection of propulsion system components and propellants and launch vehicle configuration. The overall design solution had to consider safety, reliability, affordability, low operability and maintenance time.
This project required a multi-disciplinary team of students. Traditional aerospace engineering disciplines such as structures, propulsion, flight mechanics, orbital mechanics, thermal, environmental control and life support systems, and optimization were involved. In addition, economics and cost played a major role in determining design viability. Teams made significant design decisions regarding the configuration and characteristics of their preferred system. Choices had to be justified based on both technical and economic grounds, with a view to the commercial extensibility of any capability being developed.
Projects were judged on technical content, originality, practical application and feasibility, and organization and presentation.
Pyxis, the second place team, was awarded a $1,500 prize. AE seniors were –
Michael Kevorkian – Team Leader and Reaction Control Systems
Isaac Han – Propulsion Systems
Hoong Chieh Yeong – Cargo Transfer Vehicle
David Szybilski – Crew Transfer Vehicle
Colin Das – Orbital Mechanics, Communications, GNC
Patrick Walsh – Thermal Protection System
Austin Ellis – Life Support Systems and Power
Wilbur Chang – Performance Metrics
BlackSky Transit Systems, the third place team, awarded $1,000, had these seniors –
Michael Ciffone – Team Leader
Nirag Amin – Business Model
Mallory Casperson – GSE & Logistics/Thermal Protection
Michael Day – Flight Operations/ADCS
Dan Anderson – Mechanical Design
Andrew Wallace – Launch Vehicle Integration/Propulsion
Jessica Wayer – Communications/Risk and Reliability
Matthew Cruce – Crew Flight Operations/ECLSS
Prof. Rodney L. Burton advised a total of five AE teams as part of the “Space” section of the two-semester AE senior design course AE440S/441S, assisted by TAs Andy Pukniel, Ben McGuire and Christy Scheuer. Course design reviews were graded and advised by AE alumni Dr. Michael Lembeck of DCI Services and Consulting, Gary Joseph of Northrup Grumman, AE professors Vicki Coverstone and Wayne Solomon, and Dr. Albert Lee of Champaign Aerospace Systems Consulting.