CLEVELAND — Software developed at NASA’s Glenn Research Center received special recognition at the Northeast Ohio Software Association’s annual Best of Tech Awards in the category of Best Software Product.
The software – Optimal Trajectories by Implicit Simulation version 4 (OTIS4) – is a general-purpose program used to perform trajectory performance studies. Its principal application includes the preliminary design of aerospace vehicles. It can also predict how a vehicle will perform or determine how best to fly it.
In designing aerospace vehicles, the trajectory performance is linked to the physical design of the vehicle by factors such as weight, fuel tank volume and solar array sizing. Trajectory generation, trajectory targeting and trajectory optimization can all be accomplished using this software. OTIS4 allows users to characterize these properties in the framework of the simulation. The result is an optimal trajectory design, as well as the parameter design of the vehicle itself.
This software has been used in the verification of launch vehicle performance for NASA’s Ares program and the engine sizing studies for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle program, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and NASA’s Constellation Program to return to the moon. It has also been used in numerous preliminary design studies conducted by NASA.
The software team from Glenn consists of John P. Riehl (Strongsville), Waldy K. Sjauw (Concord Township) and Robert D. Falck (Cleveland) as well as Boeing Research and Technology engineer Stephen Paris (Kent, Wash.)
The event to recognize this software was held in May at Cuyahoga Community College’s Corporate College East in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.
Earlier this year, the OTIS4 software received the prestigious 2008 NASA Software of the Year Award.
For more information on the OTIS4 software, visit:
http://otis.grc.nasa.gov/background.html
For more information about NASA’s Glenn Research Center, visit:
