Ground and Range Operations for a Heavy-Lift Vehicle: Preliminary Thoughts

• Published in: SAE International journal of aerospace Vol. 4; no. 2; pp. 1064 - 1073
• Main Authors: Rabelo, Luis, Bardina, Jorge, Zhu, Yanshen, Compton, Jeppie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Warrendale SAE International 01.11.2011; SAE International, a Pennsylvania Not-for Profit
• Subjects: Decision making; Heavy lift launch vehicles; Launch vehicle configurations; Simulation; Subsystems
• ISSN: 1946-3855; 1946-3901; 1946-3901
• DOI: 10.4271/2011-01-2643

This paper discusses the ground and range operations for a Shuttle derived Heavy-Lift Vehicle being launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the Eastern range. Comparisons will be made between the Shuttle and a heavy lift configuration (SLS-ETF MPCV - April 2011) by contrasting their subsystems. The analysis will also describe a simulation configuration with the potential to be utilized for heavy lift vehicle processing/range simulation modeling and the development of decision-making systems utilized by the range. In addition, a simple simulation model is used to provide the required critical thinking foundations for this preliminary analysis.