The 2nd UK workshop on Optimisation in Space Engineering (OSE) was an event jointly organised by the Turing Gateway to Mathematics (TGM), the University of Birmingham, Astrium Satellites UK, the University of Southampton and the University of Strathclyde. The workshop was supported and endorsed by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Objectives
OSE aims at providing space companies, universities, research institutes, and organisations with a forum of excellence in the area of optimisation in space engineering. Participants were invited to share their latest engineering problems and proposed solutions so as to promote the creation and exchange of ideas and the identification of new trends and required developments.
In addition to the latest theoretical advances in the field of applied mathematics for space engineering, OSE is also devoted to mathematical tools and techniques. Demonstrations and short tutorials are welcome.
Examples of discussion topics included:
- Space engineering optimisation problems, which are currently difficult to solve or have no current satisfactory solution
- Future challenges in the field of mathematics applied in space engineering problems
- Current status of mathematical theories, tools, their pros and cons
- Visions for the future
The 2nd OSE workshop aimed to take forward outputs such as identified challenges and issues and address these through a series of talks, discussion and break-out group type activities. Feedback indicated the value of engagement between academia and industry, especially at an early stage of a problem formation.
The programme outlines the key areas that were covered and includes links to the talks and presentations.
Additionally, a number of example space engineering optimisation problems were investigated and the solutions compared and contrasted to gain understanding of the efficiency of the various techniques.
Background
The 1st UK workshop on Optimisation in Space Engineering (OSE) was held on 5-6 November 2013 in Birmingham and resulted in the formation of a national working group. This event was jointly organised by the Turing Gateway to Mathematics (TGM), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the University of Southampton, and it was hosted by the University of Birmingham.
In this first meeting, participants shared their latest engineering problems and proposed solutions so as to promote the creation and exchange of ideas and the identification of new trends and required developments. Various problems such as interplanetary trajectory optimisation, optimal rendezvous guidance on non-circular spacecraft orbits, guided entry, descent, and landing trajectories, have previously been highlighted by the ESA. There is therefore a need for technology improvements and further research in this area. The formation of a UK working group following the November 2013 exploratory workshop was a first step towards this.
