Student Name: Nicholas Gollins

Advisor: Dr. Koki Ho

Milestone: PhD Thesis Final Examination (Defense)

Degree Program: Aerospace Engineering

Title: Assessing Programmatic Variables and Uncertainties in Space Exploration Program Planning

Abstract: All space exploration programs begin life as a set of requirements, driven by one or more scientific or technological objectives. A program architect must find a feasible, and ideally the most efficient, method by which to meet those requirements. The resulting mission plan often depends heavily on novel technologies and systems that may still be under development. This couples the mission design with the eventual outcome of the system design process, with the optimal mission design variables depending on the realization of the performance metrics of the related systems. This thesis studies methods by which to optimize space exploration programs under development uncertainties. First, a method for optimizing multi-mission campaign schedules subject to time constraints is developed. Second, this method is expanded to account for schedule uncertainties, provided information regarding the trade-off between mission performance and robustness. Finally, a multi-parametric linear programming method is developed for finding optimal mission plans under system design uncertainty. Collectively, these methods allow a program architect to make qualitatively-informed decisions on program schedule and system selection in order to achieve an efficient and robust campaign plan.

Date and time: 2025-11-11, 9:30 am

Location: CODA C0915

Committee:

Dr. Koki Ho (advisor), School of Aerospace Engineering

Dr Glenn Lightsey, School of Aerospace Engineering

Dr Brian Gunter, School of Aerospace Engineering

Dr Adam Abdin,  CentraleSupélec Université Paris-Saclay

Dr Markus Landgraf, European Space Agency