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Optimization and robustness are the two
important pillars on which the edifice of the
aerospace design stands. The high investments
needed for space programmes demand that
maximum returns are extracted from the system.
At the same time the enormous impact of a failed
space mission, in terms of cost, schedule and
accountability, necessarily requires that the
design must also be robust. It may, at a first
glance, appear that the twin requirements of
optimization and robustness are two conflicting
requirements. But this is not necessarily true.
Modern developments in optimization methods
have the necessary ingredients to build the
required robustness to the system while
optimizing its performance. These new
techniques can simultaneously consider multiple
objective functions and offer a range of viable
alternative optimal system solutions. The theory
and practice of modern optimization has
undergone an evolution to meet the design
requirements of complex systems.
Space launch systems involve challenges in
mul ti pl e di sci pl i nes, e.g., Structures,
aerothermodynami cs, fl i ght mechani cs,
Navigation-Guidance-Control, propulsion,
telemetry, range safety, etc. The systems are
inherently very expensive to build and launch. In
such a system design, in order to maximize the
payload mass and hence reduce the launch
cost/kg of payload, each sub-system has to be
necessarily weight optimal, as well as
performance optimal. In addition to the
subsystem optimality, the overall mission
sequence too has to be optimal. i.e., the whole
trajectory of the launch vehicle should be so
designed that while meeting all the design
constraints, the payload is still optimized.
Progress in Optimization Methods and
Aerospace Applications
The progress in optimization methods in the last
50 years has been enormous. It is indeed true
that the foundations for these developments
really lie in the contributions of mathematical
giants like Cauchy, Euler, Gauss, Lagrange,
Newton, Pontryagin and other masters of such
caliber. But many new and innovative ideas have
been introduced in recent times. For
continuously differentiable functions, a number
of variable metric methods have been proposed;
their mathematical properties of convergence
well-established; and consistent and successful
practical application has been demonstrated.
The strides made in the use of random search
and related methods have brought in many
possibilities in the realm of global optimization
and also in cases, where derivatives are difficult
to calculate, or even do not exist. Several of
these successful methods mimic natural
processes, for example, the natural selection and
the evolutionary principles embedded in the
genetic algorithms for optimization. With such
developments in the recent past, the present day
designer has a spectrum of techniques on hand.
He also now has the task of choosing appropriate
methods depending on the complexity of the
design task. There is also a need to innovate over
the existing methods, since, thankfully, there is
no best method or suite of methods that exists;
and there is always a new problem that may
require a departure from the beaten track.
There is a substantial amount of application-
By V. Adimurthy
Multidisciplinary Design Optimization, the New
Paradigm in Aerospace Design
"The progress in optimization methods in the last 50 years has been enormous. It is
indeed true that the foundations for these developments really lie in the contributions of
mathematical giants like Cauchy, Euler, Gauss, Lagrange, Newton, Pontryagin and other masters
of such caliber. But many new and innovative ideas have been introduced in recent times. Several
of these successful methods mimic natural processes, for example, the natural selection and the
evolutionary principles embedded in the genetic algorithms for optimization"
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oriented research in the field of aerospace
dynamics. Trajectory optimization is routinely
done for every space launch, and the methods
are being continuously improved as more and
more complex mission scenarios and constraints
are considered. Optimal guidance laws catering
to diverse applications are generated.
Aerodynamic shape optimization is a classical
topic with reference to drag minimization. But
multiple regimes of flight and more accurate flow
simulation models necessitate constant
improvement of the design techniques. This is
also true in the structures, propulsion and
thermal design areas of aerospace. Lunar and
planetary mission studies offer the designer a
challenging area for optimization. While all the
pre-1980 lunar missions take the conventional
route of lunar transfer from low-Earth parking
orbits, recent optimal mission designs open up
new avenues for lunar and planetary
programmes
Launch Vehicle Trajectory Optimization
Trajectory optimization plays a vital role in the
design of a launch vehicle, starting from initial
vehicle sizing and definition phase to launch-day
operations of steering programme selection. The
emphasis on low cost access to space has
inspired many recent developments in the
methodology of trajectory optimization.
Trajectory optimization with detailed launch
vehicle and mission constraints is a challenging
non-linear problem. The task is further made
complex when different phases of the trajectory
have different objectives of optimization and also
different path constraints. Efforts to solve this
effectively using the state of the art techniques
are being continuously made. The software
package PYOPT developed and validated at the
Indian Space Research Organization employs the
concepts of diagonalized multiplier methods for
constrai ned pi tch and yaw traj ectory
optimization. In the scheme adopted in PYOPT,
an attempt has been made to model some of the
constraints in the system dynamics itself, while
the rest are left for the optimization algorithm.
This scheme is equivalent to making a
transformation on the dynamics in order to make
a highly constrained problem a much less
constrained one, by allowing the system
dynamics black box to address some of the
constraints. Further it is assumed that the control
variables are parameterized, so that the problem
is to find a finite number of control parameters
instead of a continuous control function. The
problem of trajectory optimization with different
objective criteria and path constraints for
different segments of the trajectory can be
effectively addressed by multi-level optimization.
Such improvements in PYOPT have resulted in
substantial benefits. One of the important
research areas is to apply multi-system
algorithms to complex trajectory optimization
problems involving multiple branches like ascent,
reentry and landing; and also to multiple
disciplines like trajectory, guidance, aero,
thermal and structural designs.
Preliminary orbit determination
Preliminary orbit determination is the process of
providing early estimates of the orbital
parameters based on initial observations, which
are necessarily of a very short duration and
represent a very short arc of the satellite orbit.
The differential correction methods, widely used
in the orbit determination problem, have been
well known since the time of Gauss. Orbit
determination methods based on differential
corrections require an initial state-vector
estimate sufficiently close to the desired solution
for the iteration process to converge to the
solution. Methods of nonlinear optimization can
be used to improve the convergence of orbit
determination. It is shown that the convergence
characteristics of some of the optimization
methods are far superior to those of the
differential correction and related methods.
Various random search strategies also have been
applied successfully to the problem of
preliminary orbit determination. The extension in
the convergence domain of initial estimates
enhances the success of obtaining an estimate
state vector in a short tracking period.
Aerodynamic shape optimisation
During the design of any Aerodynamic
configuration, one has to cater to various
requirements and often these are contradictory in
nature. It calls for a design optimization of the
confi gurati on, whi ch sati sfi es vari ous
requirements. Earlier, configuration designs were
carried out mostly by judgement of the designer
based on his experience and understanding of the
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trajectory relative to the Moon. The direction of
motion also changes because of lunar gravity.
The post encounter trajectory can have a wide
spectrum of orbital characteristics. It can be an
escape trajectory from the Earth's gravity field; it
can be an elliptic orbit, with very high perigee
altitudes of the order of several hundred
thousand kilometers; the inclinations of these
orbits also can be drastically different from the
incoming orbit. This phenomenon can be
judiciously used to raise the perigee of the
approach trajectory, rotate the apsidal line and
change the orbital inclination by choosing
appropriate initial transfer orbit characteristics.
Studies in this direction have provided very
interesting results, though unconventional.
Lunar and Inter-Planetary Mission Design
This again is a fertile area of study for the
optimization expert since the domain of
interplanetary transfers and swingbys offers
many interesting and novel possibilities. For
example, consider the solar-sail technology,
which holds a great promise of opening up an era
of low-cost space missions. Solar sails are
spacecraft that use the momentum transfer of
photons emitted by the Sun onto large, highly
reflecting sails for passive propulsion. Ultra-thin
sail materials can be used with the solar radiation
pressure, enabling a passive sailcraft to travel to
the Moon, Mercury or comets and asteroids.
aerodynamic behaviour of the configuration and
it was not through rigorous optimization. One
reason for this could be the time consuming
process of estimating the performance index of
the given configuration. Only recently, rigorous
attempts on the aerodynamic shape optimisation
have been reported. Some of the interesting
applications in ISRO are in the area of hypersonic
configuration design and intake optimization.
Optimal Lunar Gravity Assist Trajectories To
GSO
The geo-stationary satellites have become
integral part of human life. They help to improve
the social and economical status of the mankind.
The launch of this class of satellites is inevitable
to cater to the needs of future expansions in
communications and telecasting and as a
replacement to the existing ones. With the heavy
increase in the demand of such satellites, making
these launches economical is very essential.
Towards this goal, many unconventional
scenarios of transfers are being discussed
among the scientific community. The approach
trajectory to Moon, when it goes through lunar
gravity field, undergoes rotation of the plane of
motion and also gains or loses energy relative to
Earth during encounter with Moon. After the
close approach, the speed of the space vehicle
relative to Earth can either increase or decrease
depending on the geometry of the approach
Controlled random search methods are very
successfully applied to generate optimal transfer
trajectories in a procedure that encompasses
Pontryagin's maximum principle.
Optimization in Risk Object Reentry Estimation
Space debris is defined as any man-made Earth-
orbiting object that is non-functional with no
reasonable expectation of assuming or resuming
any intended function. Space debris refers to
material that is on orbit as the result of space
initiatives, but is no longer serving any useful
function. Accurate estimation of reentry time is
important from the considerations of reentry of
large space debris objects that are potentially
hazardous. Recognizing this importance, the
Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination
Committee (IADC), which is the main
international technical forum of space faring
nations addressing the issues of space debris,
conducts periodic risk object reentry exercises
on a cooperative basis among its members.
However, there is a fundamental difficulty on
estimating the orbital life time and the reentry
times of the orbital debris, because of the fact
that several characteristics effecting the debris
dynamics like its mass, coefficient of drag,
reference area, atmospheric variations are not
known. The combined influence of the luni-solar
perturbations and drag on space debris in GTO
orbits can result in lifetime variations from a few
months to several decades. GA based
optimization procedures have been very
successfully used to predict the decay times for a
number of objects of interest to ISRO.
MDO The Logical Extension
The emphasis for the future will be in the
multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO). It is
the next logical step after design optimization at
sub-system l evel s. MDO i s becomi ng
increasingly important in today's highly
interactive and multi-discipline environment
especially in aerospace technology. This is so
because even after ensuring that each system is
optimal on its own, there is no assurance that the
total system is optimal. The answer to this lies in
MDO, which involves formal system level
optimization, and drives each sub-system design
such that the system performance becomes
optimal. The need for evolving suitable
paradigms for optimization in multi-disciplinary
design environment has been felt, and this has
resulted in formation of specialist teams at many
academic and R&D institutions. In our country
special interest group on MDO (SIG-MDO)
consisting of people drawn from all aerospace
organisation led by Centre for Aerospace System
Design and Engineering (CASDE, IITB) has
spearheaded a drive to promote MDO in the
country.
In ISRO, the importance of this area is recognized
and preliminary efforts have been initiated. Apart
from generating the optimal design, the process
of MDO becomes a catalyst in generating design
knowledge (through information on sensitivity to
various design parameters) and encapsulating it
in forms that can be retained over a period of
time. This becomes especially relevant when the
experienced designers move over to other
assignments.
Further, there is a strong demand to reduce the
design cycle times. The key problem in this
process is that many parameters get fixed in the
conceptual stage and preliminary design stage
itself, when the knowledge about the system is
fairly low. During the detailed design stage,
when the knowledge of the system increases,
the freedom to act on it decreases substantially.
MDO framework provides a means of taking
informed design decisions fairly early in the
design cycle based on high fidelity analysis and
formal optimization, thereby reducing the design
time as well as avoiding sub-optimal designs.
New algorithmic topologies for MDO are under
study; and the individual domain codes are being
improved for MDO application. In this
environment of integrated optimization, more
and more problems with multiple objectives will
be posed. Academic institutions like IITK need to
take this up in design projects and develop
strategies for implementation in challenging
national aerospace programmes.
About the author: Dr. Adimurthy received his Ph.D. degree in 1973 from the Indian Institute of Technology,
Kanpur. He is presently the Deputy Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, in charge of the Aeronautics
Entity. Dr. Adimurthy maintains continued contacts with IITK as INAE Distinguished Visiting Professor and as
a member of the ISRO-IITK Space Technology Cell.

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