Astos Solutions News
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.
Australian distributor agreement signed
[2019-06-13] We are happy to announce a new distributor has been authorised for the region of Commonwealth of Australia. An agreement with SouthernLaunch has been signed in May 2019.
Astos Solutions agreed to give SouthernLaunch exclusive rights to sell products to companies working on rocket launch in Australia.
We look forward to a great long-term relationship with Lloyd Damp, CEO of SouthernLaunch and his team! Good luck with the business in Down Under!
ASTOS Down Under: AURC Sponsorship
[2019-05-20] We are proud to be a Sponsor of this year's Australian Universities Rocket Competition AURC for the first time. All University teams have been granted academic licenses of ASTOS and ASTOS Amateur Rocket Edition for the preparation for the competition. The final competition has taken place alongside the rocketry festival Thunda Down Under 2019 17 - 19 April 2019.
We express our congratulations to all teams who have taken up this challenge and are especially happy with this year's winners of the AURC!
10,000 ft Runner-up: USYD Rocketry Team
10,000 ft Winner: UQ Space
30,000 ft Runner-up: Monash High Powered Rocketry (HPR)
30,000 ft Winner: RMIT University
Overall Competition Winner: UQ Space
See this LinkedIn post for more links and pictures.
Gladly again in the coming year!
ASTOS 9.7 Released
[2019-05-20] Since our last news update several months ago ASTOS has evolved from version 9.3 to 9.7 while new features have been added and existing ones have been improved:
- An option to model the propellant management system has been added which improves the accuracy of the detailed vehicle design process.
- The Interplanetary Transfer Analysis supports now transfers between any two celestial bodies inside the solar system, e.g. a Moon-Mars transfer. It is no longer required that the departure and the arrival celestial body have a common central body.
- In the launch safety analysis the explosion energy considered for the blast calculation is now customizable.
- A polyhedron gravity field model has been added allowing to model celestial bodies with complex and irregular gravity fields.
- LTAN can be used to specify the RAAN for Frozen Orbit and Ground Repeat Orbit.
ASTOS 9.3 Released
[2018-09-28] The release 9.3 introduces a new interface to the DCAP multi-body dynamics simulation software. This functionality is mainly supporting detailed closed-loop simulations.