A Network Flow-based Formulation to Optimize Campaign Alternatives for a Reference Lunar Surface Base

Paper number

IAC-19,D1,4B,1,x52183

Author

Ms. Katherine McBrayer, United States, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Aerospace Engineering

Coauthor

Mr. Nathan Daniel, United States, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Aerospace Engineering

Coauthor

Ms. Marie Degiognet, United States, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Aerospace Engineering

Coauthor

Mr. Anthony Velte, United States, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Aerospace Engineering

Coauthor

Dr. Bradford Robertson, United States, Georgia Institute of Technology

Coauthor

Prof. Dimitri Mavris, United States, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Aerospace Engineering

Year

2019

Abstract

NASA’s current vision for the future of space exploration focuses on developing a lasting presence on and around the Moon. Future lunar campaigns will emphasize commercial and global partnerships to enable a sustainable cislunar economy. Architectural considerations, such as reusability of lunar landers, relative levels of robotic assembly compared to human assembly, and utilization of the planned Gateway for docking and refueling, may have a large impact on the costs and complexity of a lunar campaign. Making such ambitious campaigns more effective requires the capability to assess high-cost decisions that may impact launch schedules, launch order, payload grouping, and other logistics aspects in ways that are not always obvious.

This paper describes a strategy for modeling the campaign logistics of long-term missions in cislunar space and the utilization of that model in performing rapid, traceable architectural trade studies. By adapting methods used in operations research [1], we formulate a linear mixed-integer model of cislunar space. This model is highly constrained by factors such as launch vehicle lifting capacity, life support demands, and the relative arrival priority of components and supplies. We then solve for an optimal campaign logistics schedule for a given architecture by minimizing campaign-level figures of merit including number of launches, total launch mass, and campaign completion time. Through this formulation, the impact of moving propellants, crew, supplies, exploration modules and other commodities from Earth to different locations in space over the course of the campaign can be assessed.

As a case study, we examine the gradual build-up and eventual permanent habitation of a reference scientific lunar base. Several campaign architecture alternatives for the base will be optimized using the mathematical programming solver Gurobi and then presented in terms of their figures of merit. These alternatives can then be compared to each other based on those figures. A similar trade study technique can be applied to different types of cislunar campaigns and will enable decision-makers to assess sensitivities and rapidly make informed decisions on the future of lunar exploration.

[1] Ruckle, L. J., ”Approaches to Solving the Express Shipment Service Network Design Problem”, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Aerospace Engineering, Dissertation. Aug 2018

Abstract document

IAC-19,D1,4B,1,x52183.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-19,D1,4B,1,x52183.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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