A Software Tool for Analysis of Future Launch Vehicle Concepts
Osman Kalden · 54th International Astronautical Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, the International Academy of Astronautics, and the International Institute of Space Law · 2003
The Space Transportation System Optimization Tool STSOPT developed during the past decade at IRS represents an iterative multistep procedure for simultaneous trajectory and design optimization of new launch vehicles. It has been extensively used in trade-off studies previously. Two major steps involved in the automated technique are the optimum flight path shaping employing a nonlinear programming optimization method and the CAD based vehicle design. The related software methods have been steadily reworked and significantly improved by incorporation of advanced software techniques, powerful optimization algorithms recently developed, and new features for pre- and postprocessing. This paper will describe some measures for improvements of STSOPT. Together with advancements in computer technologies, a significant increase in both convergence region and convergence rate is achieved.