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Flight dynamics calculations are handled by computerized guidance systems aboard the vehicle; the status of the flight dynamics is monitored on the ground during powered maneuvers by a member of the flight controller team known in NASA's Human Spaceflight Center as the flight dynamics officer, or in the European Space Agency as the spacecraft ...
Astrodynamics is a core discipline within space-mission design and control. Celestial mechanics treats more broadly the orbital dynamics of systems under the influence of gravity , including both spacecraft and natural astronomical bodies such as star systems , planets , moons , and comets .
A spacecraft's attitude must typically be stabilized and controlled for a variety of reasons. It is often needed so that the spacecraft high-gain antenna may be accurately pointed to Earth for communications, so that onboard experiments may accomplish precise pointing for accurate collection and subsequent interpretation of data, so that the heating and cooling effects of sunlight and shadow ...
A spacecraft's attitude must typically be stabilized and controlled for a variety of reasons. It is often needed so that the spacecraft high-gain antenna may be accurately pointed to Earth for communications, so that onboard experiments may accomplish precise pointing for accurate collection and subsequent interpretation of data, so that the heating and cooling effects of sunlight and shadow ...
The guidance program is a precalculated lookup table of pitch vs time. Control is done with engine gimballing and/or aerodynamic control surfaces. The pitch program maintains a zero angle of attack (the definition of a gravity turn) until the vacuum of space is reached, thus minimizing lateral aerodynamic loads on the vehicle.
For Space Shuttle missions, in the firing room at the Launch Control Center, the NASA Test Director (NTD) performed this check via a voice communications link with other NASA personnel. The NTD was the leader of the shuttle test team responsible for directing and integrating all flight crew, orbiter, external tank/solid rocket booster and ...
The slew of a spacecraft is its orientation in reference to a plane or fixed position such as Earth, the Sun, another celestial body or other point in space. When moving to assume such an orientation, the spacecraft is slewing. [1] [2] [3] During spaceflight, a craft's attitude must be controlled for reasons depending on the craft's mission ...
Launch of Pioneer 6 on a Delta-E rocket Pioneer 8 being prepared for launch Launch of Pioneer 8 on a Delta-E1 rocket. Each craft was identical. They were spin-stabilized 0.94 m (3 ft 1 in) diameter × 0.81 m (2 ft 8 in) tall cylinders with a 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) long magnetometer boom and solar panels mounted around the body.