Creating Autonomous Spacecraft with AFAST
Autonomous Feature And Start Tracking (AFAST), essential technology for building autonomous
AFAST↗
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Development of Closed-Loop Simulation Methods for a Next-Generation Terminal Area Automation System
A next-generation air traffic decision support tool, known as the Active Final Approach Spacing Tool (aFAST), will generate heading, speed and altitude commands to achieve more precise separation of aircraft in the terminal area. The techniques used to analyze the performance of earlier generation decision support tools are not adequate to analyze the performance of aFAST. This paper summarizes the development of a new and innovative fully closed-loop testing method for aFAST. This method, called trajectory feedback testing, closes each aircraft's control loop inside of the aFAST scheduling algorithm. Validation of trajectory feedback testing by examination of the variation of aircraft time-of-arrival predictions between schedule updates and the variation of aircraft excess separation distances between simulation runs is presented.
Robinson, John E., III↗
Next Generation CTAS Tools
The FAA's Free Flight Phase 1 Office is in the process of deploying the current generation of CTAS tools, which are the Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) and the passive Final Approach Spacing Tool (pFAST), at selected centers and airports. Research at NASA is now focussed on extending the CTAS software and computer human interfaces to provide more advanced capabilities. The Multi-center TMA (McTMA) is designed to operate at airports where arrival flows originate from two or more centers whose boundaries are in close proximity to the TRACON boundary. McTMA will also include techniques for routing arrival flows away from congested airspace and around airspace reserved for arrivals into other hub airports. NASA is working with FAA and MITRE to build a prototype McTMA for the Philadelphia airport. The active Final Approach Spacing Tool (aFAST) provides speed and heading advisories to help controllers achieve accurate spacing between aircraft on final approach. These advisories will be integrated with those in the existing pFAST to provide a set of comprehensive advisories for controlling arrival traffic from the TRACON boundary to touchdown at complex, high-capacity airports. A research prototype of aFAST, designed for the Dallas-Fort Worth is in an advanced stage of development. The Expedite Departure Path (EDP) and Direct-To tools are designed to help controllers guide departing aircraft out of the TRACON airspace and to climb to cruise altitude along the most efficient routes.
Erzberger, Heinz↗
Application of New Technology to Future Celestial Trackers
New developments in image sensors and optical materials have opened the door to dramatic mass and power reductions in celestial tracker designs. The rapid development of active pixel sensors (APS) has provided a new detector choice offering high on-chip integration of support circuitry at reduced power consumption. Silicon-Carbide (Si-C) optics are one of the new developments in low-mass optical components. We describe the celestial tracker needs of an Autonomous Feature and Star Tracking (AFAST) system designed for autonomous spacecraft control. Details of a low mass celestial tracker, based on a low power APS array and optimized for an AFAST system, are discussed.
active↗
Autonomous Image-Based Pointing for Planetary Flyby
New spacecraft will be more autonomous. Image-based, closed-loop tracking and pointing are essential to this capability.
Autonomous↗