Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Technical Committee Newsletter Page 1

The AFM TC Newsletter is published biannually by the Publications Subcommittee

Direct comments & contributions to:

AFM TC ChairSteve Dunnsteve.dunn@lmco.com

Brenna Stachewiczbrenna.stachewicz@cobham.com

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

ATMOSPHERIC FLIGHT MECHANICSTECHNICAL COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER

The purpose of the Atmospheric Flight

Mechanics Technical Committee

To advance the technology and provide forums for the

theoretical, experimental, and practical consideration of

aerodynamic performance, trajectories, and attitude

dynamics of vehicles moving through planetary

atmospheres; aerodynamic forces and moments acting on

such vehicles; stability, response to control, handling

qualities, and response to atmospheric disturbances of

these vehicles.

Bailout: noun1) The act of parachuting from an aircraft, to escape a crash, fire, etc.2) An instance of coming to the rescue, especially financially.3) An alternative additional choice.4) Of pertaining to, or consisting of means for relieving an emergency situation.

(Random House Dictionary 2009)

Wow! How many times have we heard this word during the last year! Amazingly, we in the aerospace industry can lay claim to the primary use of the term! Even those executives with “golden parachutes” draw from the analogy to flight. Why? Well, those of us in aerospace are not likely surprised, in that that our profession is one of the most captivating, thrilling, drama filled, challenging and paradigm shifting there is. Whether, you are appreciating the beauty of a bird or formation of jet fighters in flight, glued to your TV as Apollo 13 astronauts successfully complete a fiery reentry to earth, applauding the sight of passengers standing in the middle of the Hudson river atop the wings of their dramatically christened A4320, watching the rockets roar off in the defense of your country or sitting in silence, reveling in the otherworldly sights of rovers on Mars or the mysterious atmosphere of Saturn’s Titan, you are expressing a natural awe of flight whether on this world or others. And you, and all others who make these marvels reality are involved in Atmospheric Flight Mechanics, or as we like to call it, AFM.

The amazing feats we see today are the result of the dreams and accomplishments of many generations of scientists, researchers and engineers who have built on the knowledge of those before them, collaborated with their peers and passed on their discoveries to the next ambitious generation. This, in a nutshell is what the AIAA and our AFM technical committee is about.

As I move into this chairmanship role I hope we can be reenergized in our purpose, remind ourselves of why we do what we do, reflect on all the things we are doing right and see if we need to adapt to the changes we see in our industry and economy.

As the incoming chair of the AIAA AFM technical committee (TC), I certainly want to acknowledge the leadership of our outgoing chair Dave Mitchell and express our thanks for his time, energies and direction. He joins the long list of AFM TC chairs who since the early ‘70s have added their marks on the TC and made it what it is today.

So, while everyone around is looking for bailouts, let’s remember that what we do in aerospace is a vital part of the way we live our lives and keeps us looking up! Let’s keep it going forward as we meet in Chicago!

Steve Dunn, TC Chair

Summer 2009

Chairman’s Message.............................................1

New TC Members............................................2

Awards, Announcements............................................3

Future Conference Dates.............................................3

Orlando Paper Stats.............................................4

2009-10 Membership List.............................................4

Inside This Issue

From The Chair

Summer 2009

New TC Member Profiles!Like in our last newsletter, it is time to learn a little bit more about our newest TC members. In this member profile section, we’ve asked our new members to provide some general stats by answering four questions. The following sections outline responses received from a few of our new members. Unfortunately, the list was a lot longer than how much space is available, so this newsletter will highlight three members: Bruce Owens, Craig Cox and Ming Xin.

Bruce Owens:Any professional work experience you would like to share?

In 1988, my professional work began at NASA Langley Research Center in the Flight Dynamics Branch conducting GA stall/spin resistance tests in the 30’X60’ tunnel. Until the end of the Cold War I enjoyed working on many interesting aircraft projects. Since then I have been involved in the Abrupt Wing Stall Program, small UAV flight research, and currently working atmospheric flight dynamics for the Orion Launch Abort System.

AIAA has a new marketing campaign, “When Did You Know?” So when did YOU know you wanted to work in the aerospace profession, and why?

As with many the desire to fly came at an early age. Fortunately for me, at age 5, I was able to take a short flight in a Cessna. This began my life long dream of flying. Why I wanted to work in the aerospace profession is because it provides extreme engineering challenges on extreme vehicles.

How about non-professional aviation/aerospace-related experiences?

The most significant would be my flight training for my private pilot’s license.

What do you do in your spare time that is non-aviation/aerospace related?

In my spare time I am involved with my church and enjoy playing intramural sports especially volleyball.

Tell us a bit about your family. Is there a favorite family activityyou enjoy?

My wife and I have 3 children which are very active in and out of school. My favorite family activity is our annual trip to the Outerbanks of N.C. for the beach and seeing where airplanes first got off the ground.

Ming Xin:Ming is a senior member of AIAA, and has been a member for 7 years. He received both his B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China. He received his Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He is currently an assistant professor of aerospace engineering at Mississippi State University.

Any professional work experience you would like to share?

Most of my professional work experience is in academia. I’ve been doing research on new nonlinear control and estimation theory since I got my Ph.D in 2002. I worked on a couple of projects for Navy on guidance and control of missiles. I was also involved in the project at NASA Marshall on designing the new optimal control algorithm for X-33 ascent phase controller. I am currently doing research on multi-vehicle cooperative control, small satellite technology, and nonlinear estimation.

AIAA has a new marketing campaign, “When Did You Know?” So when did YOU know you wanted to work in the aerospace profession, and why?

I was brought to aerospace engineering ever since I was a young kid because my father was a flight control engineer at the biggest flight control research institute in China. The topics at home and many friends of my family are all related to aerospace engineering. So I grew up in such an aero environment and was fascinated by the aircraft. Then I went to college with the major of aerospace engineering and now I become a professor to teach the next generation aerospace engineers.

How about non-professional aviation/aerospace-related experiences?

Thirteen years ago, I was a software engineer to develop some database systems for a year. I was also a JAVA certified programmer.

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Technical Committee Newsletter Page 2

Summer 2009

What do you do in your spare time that is non-aviation/aerospace related?

I love to play basketball and watch NBA.

Tell us a bit about your family. Is there a favorite family activity you enjoy?

I have been married for 10 years. We have one daughter, 9 years old. Our favorite family activity is to sing Karaoke at home. My wife is kind of a professional singer. She also loves dancing. She makes my life more lively and dynamic.

Craig Cox:Any professional work experience you would like to share?

After receiving my BS and MS in Computer Science, I worked as a software consultant for a number of years. In 2003 I began a PhD program in Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University. While in the program I did a number of co-op sessions at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. When I completed my PhD program in December 2008 I joined AFRL as a regular employee in the Aerodynamic Configuration Branch of the Air Vehicles Directorate. I study low Reynolds number unsteady aerodynamics using a free-surface water tunnel.

AIAA has a new marketing campaign, “When Did You Know?” So when did YOU know you wanted to work in the aerospace profession, and why?

I have been interested in aviation since I was a child, and always wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to know more about how an aircraft works than what is taught in the process of getting a pilot’s license. I assumed that aviation would always be a part of my non-professional life, but I guess I knew I wanted to work in the aerospace profession once I made the decision to return to school for an aerospace engineering degree.

How about non-professional aviation/aerospace-related experiences?

I am an instrument-rated private pilot with about 700 hours. I haven’t flown much since I went back to school in 2003. I also fly radio-control airplanes and a couple of helicopters that I am still hovering tail-in.

What do you do in your spare time that is non-aviation/aerospace related?

I enjoy developing applications for microcontrollers. I have an amazing ability to work on a month-long project for years without actually completing it. My favorite is a homemade automobile cruise control, which got de-scoped into a “cruise indicator”, and which still isn’t complete. In working this problem I have discovered a tear in the time-space continuum where the speed of electricity drops to about 4 m/s. Either that or there is a bug in my code.

Special Congratulations

The AIAA Board of Directors unanimously granted Lifetime Member status to our very own Chuck Suchomel. Chuck is now in an elite AIAA category known as Emeritus Lifetime Member. Let’s thank Chuck for his hard work and dedication. Congratulations!

Best Paper Award

The winners of the AFM Best Paper Award for the Orlando 2009 conference were Michael Grant, Bradley Steinfeldt, and Robert Braun for their paper “Smart Divert: A New Entry, Descent and Landing Architecture,” AIAA 2009-522. The abstract is presented below:

To date, Mars robotic landing site selection has been a compromise between scientific interest and safety. Due to the rather large landed footprint major axis lengths of the Viking, Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers, and Phoenix missions, these landed ellipses have been placed in vast, relatively flat areas to ensure a high probability of landing success. Scientists are interested in exploring more geologically interesting areas that may contain landing hazards, including sloping terrain, craters, and rocks. Smart Divert is a new entry, descent, and landing architecture that could allow robotic missions to safely land in hazardous terrain without the requirement of hypersonic guidance. Smart Divert consists of a ballistic entry followed by supersonic parachute deployment. After parachute release, the vehicle diverts to one of many predefined, fuel-optimal safe zones. Smart Divert performance and entry design is discussed and is followed by a discussion of Smart Divert for random terrain. An initial assessment of optimal landing site arrangement is performed and an example of the usefulness of Smart Divert is performed for actual Mars terrain using Phoenix landing site rock count data.

Mark your Calendars: Conference Dates

Aerospace Sciences ConferenceOrlando, FL: Jan 4-7, 2010

Mr. Chuck Suchomel, AFM Technical Chair

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics ConferenceToronto, Ontario, Canada: Aug 2-5, 2010

Aerospace Sciences ConferenceOrlando, FL: Jan 3-7, 2011

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Technical Committee Newsletter Page 3

Summer 2009

Orlando Paper Stats

From our Orlando conference, the following paper statistics have been compiled:

ASM 2009 Submitted Abstracts Accepted Abstracts Rejected Abstracts Final PapersAerodynamic Prediction Methods 1 0 1 0Aircraft Flight Dynamics, Handling Qualities, and Performance 18 17 1 17Launch Vehicle, Missile, and Projectile Flight Dynamics 9 8 1 8Small/Mini/Micro Aerial Vehicles 21 19 2 19Planetary Entry and Aeroassist Technology 8 7 1 7Other Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Submittals 2 0 2 0

Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Technical Committee Newsletter Page 4

Chairman: Steve Dunn

Members:Gregg AbateMujahid AbdulrahimAnwar AhmedMichael BolenderGene CooperCraig CoxAgamemnon CrassidisBrian DanowskyAtilla DoganEdmund FieldAntonio FilipponeAshok GopalarathnamEric HallbergClay HardenMohammad KhanDwayne KimballMarc Kniskern

Steve KomadinaLawrence LijewskiMark LowenbergWulf MoennichThomas NicollD Bruce OwensBandu PamadiFrancis PrioloKamal ShweykKrzysztof SibilskiBrenna StachewiczCharles SuchomelTravis VetterMichael WeaverPeggy Williams-HayesMing Xin

2009-2010 AFM TC Members