Flight Design

Receive technical leadership in guidance, navigation and control (GN&C), and autonomous and intelligent GN&C systems. Work with and procure the technical expertise and facilities to support GN&C hardware and software development, testing, and verification, including real-time hardware-in-the-loop and pilot-in-the-loop simulations; end-to-end GN&C system test and verification; and navigation systems definition, design, development, and test.

The idea of rendezvous and proximity operations is not new to space travel, but the knowledge needed for it has grown exponentially. Utilize ground facilities, including real-time simulators that allow astronauts to develop their skills to get as much training before they have an opportunity at this task on Earth or out into deep space.

Design and evaluate mission concepts, vehicle flight performance capabilities and requirements, and preliminary GN&C compatibility with the desired missions. Receive an end-to-end analysis for all current and advanced vehicles, including LEO spaceflight envelope design to lunar orbit trajectories and planetary orbits, including ascent profiles that may be used during rendezvous (landing) or on a trajectory towards earth entry.

Planning for entry, descent, and landing is challenging because of the speed at which an object must enter the atmosphere, the composition of Earth's atmosphere, and what they are going to land on. Use a variety of ground test facilities as well as analytical capabilities like computational fluid dynamics analysis. A combination thereof provides insight into how best to design these systems.

Gain technical leadership in the engineering disciplines of aerodynamics, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics. A highly skilled workforce at your disposal can meet any demand or challenge across all three fields. Additionally, access premier laboratories with state-of-the-art analysis tools and databases.