Spacecraft design using a genetic algorithm optimization approach

Spacecraft design is a highly coupled problem. The design of the spacecraft must balance payload objectives and orbital design against cost and schedule guidelines. Currently spacecraft are 'optimized' manually through a tool-assisted evaluation of a limited set of design alternatives. With this approach there is no guarantee that a system-level focus will be taken and 'feasibility' rather than 'optimality' is commonly all that is achieved. With support from NASA, the author has investigated better methods for performing the earliest stage of spacecraft design (including cost analysis) to ensure that a systems perspective is taken. This paper describes a tool for conceptual spacecraft design, SCOUT (Spacecraft Concept Optimization and Utility Tool), that uses a set of design estimating relationships (DERs) and cost relationships (CERs) coupled with genetic optimization. A retrospective comparison between SCOUT results and the actual design of the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft is made.