Astos Solutions News
The "HyGo - Hybrid, Green Upper Stage" project has been kicked off!
[2022-11-25]
The "HyGo - Hybrid, Green Upper Stage" project has been kicked off!
The aim of the project is to develop an upper stage for an orbital rocket using innovative and cost-saving technologies. The project is funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg as part of the invest-BW grant. The development of the central part of a rocket requires good coordination of the work areas such as structural development, fluid system, aerodynamics, electronics as well as software development. The foundation for this was laid at the first project meeting.
The participants Astos Solutions GmbH, enGits GmbH, the Institute of Aircraft Systems at the University of Stuttgart and HyImpulse Technologies GmbH stand for "Rocket Technology, Made in Baden-Württemberg". Competence in the "New Space" sector is being built up and jobs created in the region. In addition to overcoming major technical hurdles, this project contributes to the sovereignty of Germany and Europe and secures access to space.
PEET 1.1.0 Released
[2022-04-25] An extensively revised and extended version 1.1 of PEET is now available.
The main updates of the tool cover:
- Specific support for telecommunication missions (analysis features)
- Implementation of a user-defined post-processing feature that allows integrating own algorithms
- Improved user-friendliness based on received feedback (editing, reporting, plotting)
- Faster evaluation for quick-assessments (skipping auxiliary results and/or using lower resolution) and batch-mode operation
- Extended metrics for time-windowed relative errors
- Specific support for selected transient error types
- Contribution analysis for each error source and contributor blocks (percentage of contribution to total error)
ASTOS 9.22 Released
[2022-03-28] The release of ASTOS 10 is getting closer. Meanwhile ASTOS 9 has been improved through multiple updates in the last few months from version 9.19 to our newest release 9.22. These releases fixed bugs, added new features and improved existing ones:
- The Bending Moment output function has been added.
- The external dependencies of the MBS functionality have been updated. Now MSYS2 is required and available by download from Your Astos
- An experimental explosion model has been added to the launch safety analysis that better fits to the launch scenario than the former EVOLVE model.
- The multi-body dynamics simulation allows now predefined movements between vehicle units (translation and rotation). The movement is defined as a profile.
- The magnetorquer inductance is now an optimizable parameter. Furthermore, Magnetorquers can now be controlled via the electrical current alternatively to the supply voltage.
- The Link and Relay definitions in the coverage analysis received the parameter Link setup time to improve the realism of the coverage results.
- The Multi-Membrane-Tank component has been introduced. It allows for modelling a set of membrane tanks that are interconnected.
ASTOS 9.19 Released
[2021-07-27] As the release of ASTOS 10 is getting closer, the current version 9 of ASTOS is receiving its nineteenth update.
In the last releases, new functionalities were added for the application areas Launch Safety Analysis and Closed-Loop Simulation.
Since version 9.15 ASTOS offers the possibility of analyzing the so-called distant focusing overpressure when modeling explosions. You can also analyze the spread of the chemical plume during launch. For a more precise evaluation of the launch risk, the population models can now also be replaced or augmented locally with user-provided data.
Existing models have been expanded for closed-loop applications in which ASTOS is used as a dynamics, kinematics and environment simulator and for modeling actuators and sensors. It is now possible to use the GNSS navigation model, which was originally only developed for the mission analysis, for the detailed modeling of a GNSS receiver taking into account the antenna geometry, visibility of GNSS satellites and the available functionality of the receiver (e.g. number and type of channels).
The integration of ASTOS in automated tool chains is an important topic, especially when it comes to operational applications. It is now possible to start complete batch processes via the command line and reports can now be generated in a text-only format. Latter allows the generation of very customizable data files suitable for import into other tools.
The possibility of coupling ASTOS with other expert tools is an important selling point. Since version 9.17 the properties of flexible bodies can be imported from a NASTRAN file and since version 9.19 ASTOS can be used as a server for an FMI cosimulation, which enables completely new application scenarios.
To name the many other new features here would go beyond the scope. We therefore recommend downloading the latest version of ASTOS and testing its features. The release notes contain a complete list of all new functionalities.
ASTOS 9.13 Released
[2020-10-01] Since our last news update several months ago ASTOS has evolved from version 9.7 to 9.13 while new features have been added and existing ones have been improved:
- The target distance constraint has been extended to support areas and points of interest.
- A Deployable Boom component has been added.
- ASTOS provides now an interface to the SatSearch database, which allows the import of preconfigured equipment models.
- Within launch and destructive re-entry analysis the explosion-induced velocity increments can now be scaled to fit a user-defined fraction of the remaining propellant's energy.
- Torques due to solar radiation pressure can now be specified as tabular data within the dynamics configuration.
- The Sun-pointing frame has been introduced (currently for output only).
- The navigation frame definition has been extended by a new option: it can be defined now via a geolocation and time alternative to a phase.
- New attitude control laws have been added in order to:
- follow the maximum lift to drag ratio
- follow a constant dynamic pressure
- to allow for an aerodynamic attitude where the side-slip angle is always zero
- The error modelling option has been extended to further parameters and models.
- In this release the list of input variables for the user actuator interface has been extended by an illumination function that might be useful for electric propulsion.
- Local orbit and barycentric frame have been added to position and velocity constraint.
- Engine profiles (e.g. for thrust or mass flow) may now depend on the current propellant mass as well as on longitude and latitude. The latter can be used to mimic dependencies with atmospheric properties (together with altitude).
- The spring parameters spring stiffness, damping constant and relaxed value in spring-damper and clamp band components may now be function of time.
- The IGRF13 geomagnetic model has been added.