ASTRODYNAMICS ENVIRONMENT (ADE): AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO SPACE FLIGHT DYNAMICS SOFTWARE

William B. Simpson and Kenneth J. Ernandes

Abstract

Space Flight Dynamics software is commonly developed under one of two significantly different paradigms. The traditional approach is software specified by requirements tailored to the user that are generally the next logical increment from a legacy system. The more recent approach is Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software that implements functionality common to the needs of a broader targeted user base. The traditional method, while delivering a system customized to the user’s needs, tends to be costly and is often burdened by schedule overruns. The COTS approach distributes the cost amongst numerous users and is designed as a turnkey system that runs on common desktop workstations and has been tested and validated prior to purchase. However, the ADE space flight dynamics software provides a unique approach in that it is a COTS solution that also shares key advantages of the traditional development approach.

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