| The Ultra
Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) Program, managed by NASA/GSFC/Wallops
Flight Facility, is planning the first ULDB demonstration
flight to occur sometime in the year 2000. The goal of
the ULDB program is to fly up to 2000 pound science payloads
above >99% of the Earth's atmosphere for at least 100
days, a factor of 5 to 30 times longer than current balloon
flights.
The need for a better trajectory simulation and prediction
capability is driven by these longer ULDB missions which,
by their nature, will have additional overflight concerns
and more expensive payloads. Overflight issues will
involve international discussions and agreements and
require definitive data on balloon path predictability.
(There are concerns that some countries may not offer
permission to enter their airspace.)
In addition, the value of future ULDB payloads is
expected to be significantly higher than present conventional
and LDB payloads, as the ultra-long duration missions
attract more scientific investigators (UNEX
and other). High-accuracy, in-flight trajectory simulation
capabilities will assist NASA with overflight issues,
safety issues, and payload recovery operations. Thus,
a key element in the development of the ULDB technology
is the ability to simulate and predict the trajectory
of the stratospheric balloons both before and during
flight.
|
Global Aerospace Corporation is under
subcontract with Computer
Sciences Corporation (CSC) to support NASA's ULDB
program by developing the Trajectory Simulation tool.
This is a phased activity whose ultimate goal is the
production of a Trajectory Simulation Mission Operation
WorkStation (TrajSim MOWS) for the ULDB program.
The MOWS is a collection of computer system hardware,
computer system software, and integrated balloon-environment
trajectory simulation software. An incremental and modular
MOWS development strategy is desirable wherein the MOWS
modules are utilized, as they are developed, to provide
answers to key ULDB Program and Mission Planning issues
early in the development process. The incremental and
modular development strategy supplies significant results
much before the end of the activity and allows ample
time for TrajSim tool testing and validation.
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