Trajectory Design for Space Systems (EN.530.626)
Course Description
This course is an introduction to the techniques and methods used to design and synthesize trajectories for a broad class of space systems. In particular, we will focus on optimization-based techniques for trajectory generation 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
Course Assistants
Mark Gonzales
Arnab Chatterjee
Meeting Times
Lectures will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30-2:45PM in Hodson 216.
Office Hours
Office hours will begin from the second week of the semester. Office hours will be held regularly at the following times, but please see the calendar at the bottom of the page for the most up-to-date hours:
- Monday 3-4PM: Arnab Chatterjee (Hackerman 111)
- Wednesday 1-2PM: Prof. Abhishek Cauligi (Hackerman 117)
- Thursday 11AM-12PM: Mark Gonzales (Hackerman 111)
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 | Learn git, Learn shell, Docker tutorial | |
| 08/28 | Linear systems theory | Lecture 2 Notes | 1, 2 | |
| 2 | 09/02 | Optimization fundamentals | Lecture 3 Notes Homework 1 Released | |
| 09/04 | Constrained optimization (Pt. 1) | 1, 2 | ||
| 3 | 09/09 | Constrained optimization (Pt. 2) | Form project groups | 1, 2 |
| 09/11 | Constrained optimization (Pt. 3) | HW1 Due, HW2 Released | 1, 2 | |
| 4 | 09/16 | Calculus of variations | 1 | |
| 09/18 | Pontryagin’s maximum principle and indirect methods | 2 | ||
| 5 | 09/23 | Off-the-shelf trajectory optimization | 1, 2 | |
| 09/25 | Planetary entry, descent, and landing | Final project proposal due | 1, 2 | |
| 6 | 09/30 | Rigid bodies and Euler’s equations | ||
| 10/02 | Planning with attitude | HW2 Due, HW3 Released | 1 | |
| 7 | 10/07 | Combinatorial planning with integer programs | 1, 2 | |
| 10/09 | Sampling-based motion planning | |||
| 8 | 10/14 | Inverse classroom (mid-semester checkpoint) | ||
| 10/16 | No lecture (Fall Break) | HW3 Due, HW4 Released | ||
| 9 | 10/21 | Derivative-free methods for trajectory optimization | 1, 2, 3 | |
| 10/23 | Surface rover path planning | |||
| 10 | 10/28 | Long and short range planner hierarchies | ||
| 10/30 | Uncertainty propagation | HW4 Due, HW5 Released | ||
| 11 | 11/04 | Stochastic optimal control | 1 | |
| 11/06 | Midterm Exam | |||
| 12 | 11/11 | Guest lecture (Dr. Bobby Braun) | 1 | |
| 11/13 | Differentiable MPC | HW5 Due | ||
| 13 | 11/18 | Learning value functions | ||
| 11/20 | Guest lecture (TBD) | |||
| 14 | 11/25 | No Lecture (Thanksgiving Break) | ||
| 11/27 | No Lecture (Thanksgiving Break) | |||
| 15 | 12/02 | Final project presentations | ||
| 12/04 | Final project presentations |