Responsive Space's Spacecraft Design Tool (SDT)

Star Technologies Corporation has developed a “.Net Framework Simulation Architecture”, “Spacecraft Design Tool” (SDT), which is an open framework for Responsive Space’s rapid design concept spanning mission capture to deployment. SDT has been incorporated in all three test cells at AFRL’s Responsive Space Testbed: FlatSat Integration Cell, Responsive Satellite Demonstration Cell, and Responsive Avionics Technology Cell. SDT is integrated into the Mission Design phase for spacecraft simulation and analysis as well as providing the real-time spacecraft dynamics/kinematics, earth environment, and sensor/actuator models in support of Hardware-In-Loop tests. SDT can simulate a sensor/actuator, or interface to its respective hardware emulator or to the actual hardware through the Responsive Space’s Plug-n-Play electronic environment. SDT provides a true software PnP environment where the User can seamlessly inherit properties from within SDT as well as add his own component or subsystem capabilities such as complex propulsion or electrical power subsystems. SDT has a 3D 1 Copyright © 2006. AIAA-4 Responsive Space Conference 2006. All rights reserved Visual game engine for rendering 3D objects such as articulated spacecraft, earth, sun, and moon. SDT has been used to model TacSat2, and a generic Responsive Space satellite. This paper describes SDT’s .Net Framework Simulation Architecture that supports true software PnP; SDT’s support of Mission Design and Analysis; SDT’s real-time implementation and utilization in the three test cells in AFRL’s Responsive Space Test Bed that supported both TacSat2 and TacSat3.