Why ATLAS
With the growing number of spacecraft in Earth orbit and cislunar space, there is a larger need to provide logistics support in the space domain for government/commercial space assets.
Currently, traditional flight-heritage systems of the space domain are not designed to provide or receive logistical support. Instead, they are isolated stand-alone systems designed to survive long operational timelines, well past their relevance to the current state-of-the-art. Within this existing paradigm, still-functioning systems are retired due to requirements for station keeping/disposal due to a lack of refueling or servicing. Damaged systems can only be fixed with software solutions, and failed deployments or debris-damaged components have forced the mission to terminate or continue with significantly reduced operational capabilities.
With this motivation, technologies for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) have been developed, including the classical example of Hubble Space Telescope’s repair mission and recent developments in ISAM robotics technologies. While the development of space robotics technologies can support individual ISAM missions, it is imperative to establish a resilient, sustainable, and flexible Earth/cislunar logistics ecosystem to support and enable future space operations. This new paradigm will enable spacecraft to be refueled, repaired, and serviced in orbit routinely, similarly to the maintenance of terrestrial assets. Our focus in the ATLAS project is to develop the science and technologies to enable this new space logistics and servicing paradigm.
Objectives
The main objective of this research effort, Advancing Technologies for Logistics Architectures in Space (ATLAS), is to conduct basic and applied research to provide new, revolutionary capabilities in the areas of Space Logistics and Mobility by innovating logistics modeling, space robotics, and spacecraft health management.
This project will investigate three synergistic and complementary Research Thrusts (RTs):
(RT1) Network-Based Space Logistics Chain Modeling by integrating both vehicle routing and the full logistics supply chain of fuel/spares/tools/materials coupled with nontraditional orbital design;
(RT2) Hybrid Soft-Rigid Robotics for Autonomous Space Services that combines the accuracy and speed of rigid arms with the adaptability and dexterity of soft arms for safe and robust servicing; and
(RT3) Intelligent Health Monitoring and Remaining Life Assessment for Thrusters with artificial intelligence and new sensor techniques for accurate remaining lifetime assessment for chemical and electric propulsion thrusters.
Advancing these technologies would be a game-changer in terms of space logistics capabilities: for example, the logistics chain model (enabled by RT1) can serve as a command and control decision support suite to optimally coordinate the full logistics chain in real-time and dispatch one or more servicers from strategically located depots with needed fuel/resources for servicing operations; the high degree-of-freedom robotics technologies (enabled by RT2) ensures the robust and safe servicing operations for both known and unknown objects via novel hybrid soft-rigid manipulator(s); and the intelligent spacecraft health management technologies (enabled by RT3) accurately monitor the state of health of the spacecraft thrusters across multiple refuelings/services and, when applicable, determine the next servicing demands for the logistics chain.
See more: Changing the Game in Space Logistics and In-Space Servicing