Space Flight Mechanics

Orbit and Trajectory Analysis -- Moon     Earth     Mars - Viking Era     Mars - Revisited     Venus

Spacecraft Dynamics and Control



Moon - Lunar Orbiters, Apollo, and Lunar Gravity Field

"Three Dimensional Lunar Mission Studies," Michael, W. H. and Tolson, R. H, NASA TM 6-29-59L, 1959

"Studies of Use of the Scout as a Booster Vehicle for Lunar Exploration," Michael, W. H., Tolson, R. H, Mayo, W. L., NASA N-73577, 1959

"Effect of Eccentricity of the Lunar Orbit, Oblateness of the Earth, and Solar Gravitational Field on Lunar Trajectories," Michael, W. H. and Tolson, R. H, NASA TN D-227, 1960

"Some Considerations for Terrestrial and Lunar Rendezvous Orbits," Tolson, R. H., NASA Intercenter Rendezvous General Meeting, Washington D.C. Feb. 27-28, 1961.

"Preliminary Proposal for a Circumlunar Photographic Experiment," Michael, W. H., Tolson, R. H., Gapcynski, J. P., TN D-1226, May 1962.

"Effect of Some Typical Geometric Constraints on Lunar Trajectories," Tolson, R. H., NASA TN D-938, 1961

"Maximum Latitude of Lunar Landing Sites," Tolson, Robert H., American Rocket Society J., vol. 32, no. 7, pp. 1091-1092, July 1962.

"The Determination of Lunar Landing Sites from Orbital Mechanics Considerations," Tolson, R. H. & Michael, W. H.,Intercenter Technical Conference on Guidance, Control, and Navigation for Manned Lunar Missions, Ames Research Center July 24-25, 1962.

"Feasibility Study of a Circumlunar Photographic Experiment," Michael, W. H., Tolson, R. H, Gapcynski, J. P., NASA TN D-1226, 1962

"Guidance and Navigation Aspects of Space Rendezvous," Houbolt, J., Bird, J., Queijo, M, NASA SP-11, 1962

"Trajectory Considerations for the Return to Earth Phase of Lunar Missions," Gapcynski, J. P. and Tolson, R. H, Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics, Technology of Lunar Exploration, vol. 10, pp. 687-702, 1963.

"The Motion of a Lunar Satellite Under the Influence of the Moon's Non-Central force Field," Tolson, R. H, Master of Science Thesis, VPI 1963

"Geometrical Characteristics of Lunar Orbits Established from Earth-Moon Trajectories," Tolson, R. H, NASA TN D-1780, 1963

"Lunar-Orbit Landing Sites and Stay Times," Tolson, R. H, NASA TM X-890, pp 1-9/204, 1963

"An Analysis of the Lunar Return Mission," Gapcynski, J. P. and Tolson, R. H, NASA TN D-1939, 1963

"Proposal for Analysis of Radio Tracking Data from the Lunar Photographic Orbiter," Michael, W. H., LaRC-JPL Proposal to NASA, Sept. 28, 1964

"The Lunar Orbiter Selenodesy Experiment," Michael, W. H. and Tolson, R. H, Second International Symposium on the Use of Artificial Satellites for Geodesy,"Athens, Greece, 1965 The Lunar Orbiter project was managed by NASA Langley Research Center.

"Error Analysis of a Weighted Least Squares Process to Determine the Lunar Gravitational Field," Tolson, R. H., and Compton, H. R., NASA TN D-3662, Oct. 1966.

"Lunar Orbiter Tracking Data Indicate Properties of Moon's Gravitational Field." Michael, W. H., Jr., Tolson, R. H., and Gapcynski, J. P, Science, vol. 153, no. 3740, September 2, 1966, pp. 1102-1103.

"Accuracy of Determining the State of a Lunar Satellite and the Lunar Gravitational Field by Using Earth-Based Range and Range-Rate Observations," Tolson, R. H., and Compton, H. R, J. Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 4, no. 1, January 1967, pp. 26-33.

"Preliminary Results on the Gravitational Field of the Moon from Analysis of Lunar Orbiter Tracking Data," Michael, W. H., Tolson, R. H, Gapcynski, J. P.,AGU Annual Meeting,"Washington, DC, 1967

"An Analysis of the Lunar Gravitational Field as Obtained from Lunar Orbiter Tracking Data," Tolson, R. H. and Gapcynski, J. P, Moon and Planets - II , North Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, Holland, pp. 178-186, 1968, COSPAR, 10-th Plenary Meeting, London, July 26-27, 1967.

"Limited Lunar Potential Field Determination for Apollo," Findlay, J., Niedfeldt, B., Tolson, R., Bellcomm, 1968.

"A Determination of the Lunar Moment of Inertia," Gapcynski, J. P., Blackshear, W. T., Tolson, R. H., and Compton, H. R, Geophys. Res. Let., vol. 2, no .8, August 1975.

"Flight Mechanics Issues Encountered on the First Apollo Lunar Landing Mission: A 25TH Anniversary Retrospective," Norris, P., AAS 94-135, Advances in the Astronomical Sciences , Vol. 87. page 1093. Comment on including C33 in lunar gravity model, 1994.




Earth

"Methods to Improve the Maintainance of the Earth Catalog of Satellites During Severe Solar Storms," Wilkins, P. G. & Tolson, R. H., NASA CR-1998-206934, 1998




Mars - Viking Era - Gravity Field, Lander Location, Phobos and Deimos

"Orbit and Position Determination for Mars Orbiters and Landers," Tolson, R. H., Blackshear, W. T., and Anderson, S. G., J. Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 7, no. 9, September 1970, pp. 1095-1100.

"Mars Lander Position Estimation in the Presence of Ephemeris Biases," Blackshear, W. T., Tolson, R. H., and Day, G.M., J. Spacecraft and Rockets vol. 10, no. 4, April 1973, pp. 284-285.

Phobos-Viking Flyby

"Phobos and Deimos Encounter Experiment During the Viking Extended Mission," Tolson, R. H., Blanchard, R. C., and Daniels, E. F, J. Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 13, no. 1, January 1976, pp. 19-25.

"Accuracy of Estimating the Masses of Phobos and Deimos from Multiple Viking Orbiter Encounters," Mason, M. L. & Tolson, R. H. J. Astronaut. Soc., vol. 24, no. 3, July-September 1976, pp. 221-241 or   Expanded NASA TM version.

"Mars Dynamics, Atmosphere and Surface Properties; Determination from Viking Tracking Data," Michael, W. H., Mayo, A. P., Blackshear, W. T., Tolson, R. H., Kelly G. M., Brenkle, J. P., Cain, D. L., Fjeldbo, G., Sweetnam, D. N., Goldstein, R. B., MacNeil, P. E., Reasenberg, R. D., Shapiro, I. I., Boak, T., Grossi, M. D., and Tang, C. H, Science, vol. 194, 197p. 1337-1338.

"Viking Lander Location and Spin Axis of Mars, Determination from Radio Tracking Data," Michael, W. H., Jr., Tolson, R. H., Mayo, A. P., Blackshear, W. T., Kelly M. B., Cain, D. L., Brenkle, J. P., Shapiro, I. I., and Reasenberg, R. D, Science, vol. 193, August 20, 1976, p. 803.

"Spherical Harmonic Representation of the Martian Gravity Field Using a Short Arc Technique," Daniels, E. F., Tolson, R. H., and Gapcynski, J. P, J. Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 14, no. 6, June 1977.

"Mars Gravity Field-Combined Viking and Mariner 9 Results," Gapcynski, J. P., Tolson, R. H., and Michael, W. H., Jr, J. Geophysical Res., vol. 82, no. 28, September 30, 1977, pp. 4325-4327.

"Lander Locations, Mars Physical Ephemeris and Solar System Parameters, Determinations from Viking Lander Tracking Data," Mayo, A. P., Blackshear, W. T., Tolson, R. H., Michael, W. H., Jr., KellG. M..M., Brenkle, J. P., and Kamerek, T, J. Geophysical Res., vol, 82, no. 28, September 30, 1977, pp. 4297-4303.

"The Viking Radio Science Investigations," Michael, W. H., Jr., Tolson, R. H., Brenkle, J. P., Cain, D. L., Fjeldbo, G., Stelzried, C. T., Grossi, M. D., Shapiro, I. I., and Tyler, G. L, J. Geophysical Res., Special Viking Issue vol. 82, no. 28, September 30, 1977, pp. 4293-4295.

"The Mass of Phobos," Tolson, R. H., Blackshear, W. T., Mason, M. L., and Kelly, G. M, Geophysical Res. Let., vol. 4, no. 12, Dec. 1977, pp. 551-554.

"Viking First Encounter of Phobos, Preliminary Results." Tolson, R. H., Duxbury, T. C., Born, G. H., Christensen, E. J., Diehl, R. E., Farless, D., Hildebrand, C. E., Mitchell, R. T., Molko, P. M., Morabito, L. A., Pallucont, F. D., Reichert, R. J., Taraji, H., Veverka, J., Neugebauer, G., and Findlay, J. T, Science, vol. 199, no. 4324, January 6, 1978, pp. 61-64.




Mars - Revisited - MGS, Odyssey, MER, MRO and beyond

"Mars Global Surveyor Aerodynamics for Maneuvers in Martian Atmosphere," Shane, R. W., Rault, D. F. G., Tolson, R. H., AIAA 32nd Thermosphysics Conf. Atlanta, GA, AIAA 97-2509, June 23-25, 1997.

"Application of Accelerometer Data to Mars Global Surveyor Aerobraking Operations," Tolson, R., Keating, G., Cancro, G., Parker, J., Noll, S., Wilkerson, B., J. of Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 323-329, May-June, 1999.

"Approaches to Autonomous Aerobraking at Mars," Hanna, J. and Tolson, R., Astrodynamics 2001, Vol. 109, Advances in Astronautics, pp. 1257-1271, 2002. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

"Development of a Monte Carlo Mars-GRAM Model for Mars 2001 Aerobraking Simulations," Dwyer, A., Tolson, R., Monk, M., Tartabini, P., Astrodynamics 2001, Vol. 109, Advances in Astronautics, pp. 1293-1308, 2002.

"Autonomous Aerobraking at Mars," Hanna, J., Tolson, R., Cianciolo, A., Dec, J., Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation and Control Systems, Frascati, Italy, October 22-25, 2002, ESA SP-516. Feb. 2003, pp. 135-146, 2003.

"Application of Accelerometer Data to Mars Odyssey Aerobraking and Atmospheric Modeling," Tolson, R., Keating, G., George, B., Escalera, P., Werner, M., Dwyer, A., and Hanna, J., J. of Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 435-443, 2005.

"Entry, descent, and landing technology concept trade study for increasing payload mass to the surface of Mars," Cruz, J., Cianciolo, A., Powell, A., Simonsen, L., Tolson, R., Fourth International Symposium on Atmospheric Reentry Vehicles and Systems, Arcachon, France, 2005.

"Aerobraking Cost and Risk Decisions," Spencer, D. A. & Tolson; R.H., J. Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 44 no. 6 (1172-1179), Nov. 2007.

"Anomalistic Disturbance Torques During the Entry Phase of the Mars Exploration Rover Missions – A Telemetry and Mars-Surface Investigation," Tolson, R.H., Willcockson, W. Desai, P., Thomas, P., J. of the Astronautical Sciences, vol. 56, no. 1, pp 99-119, March 2008.

Venus - Magellan

Using Magellan Attitude Control Data to Study the Venusian Atmosphere and Various Spacecraft Aerodynamic Properties," Croom, C. and Tolson, R., Advances in the Astronautical Sciences, Vol. 87, Part 1, 1994, pp 451-467.

"Magellan Windmill and Termination Experiments," Tolson, R.H., Patterson M. T., and LyonD. T., Space Flight Dynamics, Cepadues-Editions, June 1995, pp 265-272.



Spacecraft Dynamics and Control

"Integrated Control of Thermally Distorted Large Space Antennas," Tolson, R. H., Dissertation 1990.

"Integrated Control of Thermally Distorted Large Space Antennas," Tolson, R. H. and Huang, J. K., J. of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, vol. 15, no. 3, May-June 1992, pp 605-614.

"Time Domain Modal Identification Methods for Application to Space Station Freedom Modal Identification Experiment," Tolson, R. H.,NAS1-18458-Task No. 36, May 15, 1992.

"Maximizing the Determinant of the Information Matrix with the Effective Independence Method," Poston, W. and Tolson, R., J. of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, vol. 15, no.6, November-December 1992, pp 1513-1514.

"A Feasibility Study of a Microgravity Enhancement System for Space Station Freecom," Diamond, P. S. and Tolson, R. H, NASA CR 191550, 1993 Odyssey at MarsPort CDR

"System Identification for Space Station Freedom Using Observer/Kalman Filter Markov Parameters," Papadopoulos, M. and Tolson, R. H, NASA CR 191521, 1993

"Admittance Model for the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System in Four Configurations," Papadopoulos, L. and Tolson, R. H, NASA CR 4555, 1993

"Evaluation of GPS Position and Attitude Determination for Automated Rendezvous and Docking Missions," DiPrinzio, M. D.and Tolson, R. H., NASA CR 4614, 1994

"A Study of the Observer/Kalman Filter Markov Parameter Identification Method," Papadopoulos, M., Tolson, R., and Garcia, E., The International Journal of Analytical and Experimental Modal Analysis, 1995.

"Controlling Flexible Base Vibrations using Kinematically Redundant Robots," Hanson, M. and Tolson, R., NSBE Conference 21st Annual National Society of Black Engineers National Convention, March, 1995.

"Onboard Star Identification Without A Priori Attitude Information," Ketchum, E. and Tolson, R., J. of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, vol. 18, no. 2, pp 242-246, March-April, 1995.

"Simulating the Dynamic Interaction of a Robotic Arm and the Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator System," Garrahan, S. L. and Tolson, R. H, NASA CR 195076, 1995

"Using a Fuzzy Supervisor to Optimize Multiple Crteria in Redundat Robots," Hanson, M. and Tolson, R., IEEE ISIC 10th IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control, August, 1995.

"Reducing Flexible Base Vibrations Through Local Redundancy Resolution," Hanson, M. and Tolson, R., Journal of Robotics Systems Vol. 12, No. 11, pp 777-779, Nov. 1995.

"Global-Local Observer Markov Parameter Identification for System Realization," Papadopoulos, M., Garcia, E. and Tolson, R., J. of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, Vol. 19, No. 6, Nov.-Dec, 1996.

"Autonomous Navigation Recovery System for Fine Pointing Low Earth Orbiting Spacecraft," Ketchum, E. & Tolson, R. H., Proceedings of the International Workshop on Spacecraft Attitude and Orbit Control Systems,", ESTEC, Netherlands, Sept 15-17, 1997.

"Input Shaaping to Reduce Solar Array Structural Vibrations," Doherty, M. J. and Tolson, R. H, NASA CR-1998-208698, 1998

"Development and Simulation Capability for the Space Station Active Rack Isolation System," Johnson, T. L. and Tolson, R. H, NASA CR-1998-206942, 1998

"Development of a Coherent Lidar for Aiding Precision Soft Landing on Planetary Bodies," Farzin Amzajerdian, Diego Pierrottet, Robert H. Tolson, Richard W. Powell, John B. Davidson, and Frank Peri, Proc. of 13th Coherent Laser Radar Conference, Kamakura, Japan, October 16-20, 2005.

"LIDAR Technology Role in Future Robotic and Manned Missions to Solar System Bodies," Rosemary R. Baize, Farzin Amzajerdian, Robert Tolson, John Davidson, Richard W. Powell and Frank Peri, Symposium of Advanced Devices and Materials for Laser Remote Sensing, San Francisco, CA, Materials Research Society Proceedings, Vol. 883, 2005. (invited)

"LIDAR-Aided Inertial Navigation with Extended Kalman Filtering for Pinpoint Landing over Rough Terrain," Busnardo, D. M., Aitken, M. L., Tolson, R. H., Pierrottet, D., and Amzajerdian, F., 49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Orlando, FL, Jan 4 - 7, 2011.




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Updated 10/1/2011 by RHT
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