Trajectory Design for Space Systems (EN.530.626)
Course Description
We will place a heavy emphasis on optimization-based techniques and study optimal control formulations for solving trajectory optimization and model predictive control problems. Applications of interest will include interplanetary trajectory optimization, rocket entry-descent-landing, asteroid proximity operations, and planetary rover path planning. A strong emphasis will be placed on practical applications through coding implementations in Python and evaluation in simple simulation environments. Finally, a course project will be included to allow students to gain further experience on an algorithm or application of their choice.
Instructors
Prof. Abhishek Cauligi
Office: Hackerman 117
Course Assistants
Meeting Times
Lectures will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30-2:45PM.
Office Hours
Syllabus
The syllabus for the course can be found here.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Topics Covered | Notes | Suggested Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 08/26 | Intro: linear algebra & differential equations review | ||
| 08/28 | Linear systems theory | HW1 Released | ||
| 2 | 09/02 | Nonlinear optimization theory | ||
| 09/04 | Constrained optimization (Pt. 1) | HW1 Due, HW2 Released | ||
| 3 | 09/09 | Pontryagin’s maximum principle and indirect methods | ||
| 09/11 | Constrained optimization (Pt. 2) | |||
| 4 | 09/16 | Constrained optimization (Pt. 3) | Form project groups | |
| 09/18 | Constrained optimization (Pt. 4) | HW2 Due, HW3 Released | ||
| 5 | 09/23 | Planetary entry, descent, and landing | ||
| 09/25 | The two-body problem (Pt. 1) | Final project proposal due | ||
| 6 | 09/30 | The two-body problem (Pt. 2) | ||
| 10/02 | Optimum orbital transfer | HW3 Due, HW4 Released | ||
| 7 | 10/07 | Rigid bodies and Euler’s equation | ||
| 10/09 | Planning with attitude | |||
| 8 | 10/14 | Sampling-based motion planning | ||
| 10/16 | Derivative-free methods for trajectory optimization | HW4 Due, HW5 Released | ||
| 9 | 10/21 | Surface rover path planning | ||
| 10/23 | Long and short range planner hierarchies | |||
| 10 | 10/28 | Uncertainty propagation | ||
| 10/30 | Stochastic optimal control (Pt. 1) | HW5 Due, HW6 Released | ||
| 11 | 11/04 | Stochastic optimal control (Pt. 2) | ||
| 11/06 | Midterm Exam | |||
| 12 | 11/11 | Learning value functions (Pt. 1) | ||
| 11/13 | Learning value functions (Pt. 2) | HW6 Due | ||
| 13 | 11/18 | Guest lecture (TBD) | ||
| 11/20 | Guest lecture (TBD) | |||
| 14 | 11/25 | No Lecture (Fall Break) | ||
| 11/27 | No Lecture (Fall Break) | |||
| 15 | 12/02 | Final project presentations | ||
| 12/04 | Final project presentations |