Plume Impingement Module for Autonomous Proximity Operations

Successfully executing proximity operations in space, such as docking or in-orbit servicing, requires spacecraft that can intelligently plan and react to the environment in real time. One of the most severe risks during proximity operations is the plume from one spacecraft’s thrusters impinging on another. These high-speed plumes can break components, melt materials, contaminate sensitive surfaces, and spin the vehicle out of control, which may result in catastrophic consequences, such as loss of mission or even loss of crew. Currently, rounds of time-consuming and expensive ground-based analyses are required to design a controller that meets plume impingement constraints, and no onboard warning systems exist. In this Phase I effort, an innovative plume impingement module is designed for autonomous onboard control. This novel algorithm uses an engineering flowfield model of high-fidelity plume simulations and simplified impingement equations. The proposed approach captures complex plume interactions in an accurate and efficient manner. The module then outputs quantities of interest and tracks constraints so that the connected controller can be optimized, or the onboard system can react to risks in real time. The culmination of this effort will deliver working preliminary software of the plume impingement module, a feasibility study, and documentation. Modular plume impingement software has a wide range of NASA and commercial applications including ground-based controller development, onboard mission design, and real-time control. In particular, the module is immediately useful for orbital debris mitigation, space station proximity operations, Artemis Orion and Gateway safety improvements, and deep space or Mars missions.

The development of a plume impingement module has many applications onboard NASA missions in the path toward fully autonomous control. Currently, one of the greatest risks to Gateway is plume impingement stack control due to its small size relative to the visiting vehicles. The standard pre-flight approach is to create a Monte Carlo set of thousands of potential trajectories for each visiting vehicle, simulate the plume impingement separately, and then iterate on the controller design. A process that can take months or years. By integrating the module onboard visiting vehicles, the vehicles can monitor and adapt for plume impingement constraints in real time. This increases safety while widening the design space and reducing the reliance on ground-based pre-flight analysis. On-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacture will also benefit from the module as they can require many proximity operations events over a short period with rapidly changing environments. By having the plume impingement module onboard, the spacecraft can pre-plan missions on the fly. In addition, this technology is required to perform proximity operations in deep space where communication delays prohibit ground monitoring and intervention. While autonomous onboard applications are the primary target of this proposal, the NASA use cases expand further than that. For example, the module can be used with Orion separately from the controller. By tracking plume impingement, warnings of constraint violations can be sent to ground control or the astronauts onboard, especially during pilot-in-the-loop maneuvers. Alternatively, during pre-flight planning, the plume impingement module can be included in the controller optimization process to develop trajectories that minimize plume impingement. Many of the NASA applications of the proposed plume impingement module translate to the commercial sector. As commercial missions become more complex and independent of NASA, there will be a greater need for software to support and enable these missions. Few commercial companies have experience simulating, designing for, and mitigating plume impingement. The plume impingement module provides a simple and cost-effective solution that can be integrated with their existing platforms in various ways. During the design phase, the companies can use the module to optimize a controller for plume impingement constraints or characterize the plume environment that their spacecraft will receive. In fact, companies participating in the NASA Commercial LEO Development Program will need to design their space stations to withstand plume impingement from visiting vehicles. In addition, visiting vehicles or spacecraft on-orbit can adopt the plume impingement module to autonomously design missions or calculate impingement in real-time onboard. This is particularly useful for commercial companies like Atomos Space, Starfish Space, or Northrup Grumman who are pursuing orbital debris mitigation. Many of these companies will need to detumble the debris from a safe distance using plume impingement before docking or grappling it. Due to the rapidly changing environment, the spacecraft must adapt to changing tumbling rates and monitor plume constraints to avoid creating additional debris. Finally, companies like SpaceX that are planning deep space and Mars missions will need the plume impingement module to reduce reliance on ground support.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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