Sage Schaffer
Class of 2025Phx, AZ
About
Hello! My name is Sage and my Polygence project is on astrodynamics and AI. I chose to work on this project because space is cool. After my project is complete, I would like to research math.Projects
- "On-board Optimal Trajectory Design For OSAM" with mentor Cody (Sept. 22, 2024)
Project Portfolio
On-board Optimal Trajectory Design For OSAM
Started Sept. 11, 2023
Abstract or project description
DESCRIPTION: This project with be focused on developing a program that may be run on a satellite in order to determine the optimal design of a spacecraft servicing network. Building on two-body principals, first a Monte Carlo simulation will be used to select good initial states for the spacecraft. Then the same data will be used to train a neural net that can be deployed to the satellite in order to determine transfers in real time.
ABSTRACT:
This research entails the independent development and training of an AI agent to calculate the most cost-efficient energy transfer for a rendezvous with a non-responsive body in an established orbit. Given the servicing craft and the non-responsive body’s initial orbit, the AI agent will propagate the servicer’s ideal trajectory in fewer iterations than that of a Monte Carlo Simulation. This paper covers all concepts involved in this topic, the techniques utilized to develop and advance machine learning, and the orbital-mechanic-related mathematics required to calculate such transfers. In addition to discussing the necessity for servicing crafts, particularly for satellites, this also covers the significance of an AI that decreases the standard number of epochs that assist in determining both bodies’ least-squares-regression position vectors in their respective trajectories and the appropriate impulse and transfer period required for the servicer to successfully rendezvous.