Description:

EPIC is an interactive computer toolset that allows the construction of a 3-D spacecraft model and the assessment of a variety of interactions between its subsystems and the plume from an electric thruster.  EPIC unites different computer tools to address the complexities associated with spacecraft/plume interaction processes.  These tools include:

• An enhanced version of Object Toolkit (the 3-D geometry-definition tool developed for the NASA/Air Force Spacecraft Charging Analyzer Program (NASCAP-2K), to facilitate interactive generation of the spacecraft geometry and materials;
• A 3-D interactions code built using the Module Integrator and Rule-based intelligent Analytic Database (MIRIAD) architecture;
• A 2-D plume code that generates the plum map from an electrostatic thruster in the R-Z plane; and
• A fast, 1-D Hall effect thruster (HET) algorithm that provides the conditions near the exit (to guide the input into the 2-D plume code).

In general, the designer provides various inputs to EPIC, i.e. satellite geometry and surface material information thruster locations and plume parameters, case study parameters such as sputter yield coefficients, orbit, hours of thruster operation etc.  The output may be int he form of contour plots of the plume map in space and of surface interactions on the 3-D spacecraft, 1-D plots along surfaces (e.g. erosion depth on a solar array as a function of distance from the thruster), integrated results over duration of mission (e.g. total induced torque in a given direction , total deposition of eroded material at a specific location on the spacecraft), list of results in text format for post-processing.

Version 1.0 is currently available.

Additional Information:

Languages: C#, C++, Java, FORTRAN, XML

Operating Systems:

Windows  2000 Professional, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional

Hardware Requirements:

Minimum 266 MHz processor (800 MHz or higher is recommended), 128 MB RAM (256 MB RAM or higher is recommended).

Availability:

• Source Code:  No
• Cost: None
• Distribution:  Available upon request to US citizens at: 
  http://see.msfc.nasa.gov/ModelDB/ModelDB.htm 
• Training:  None

Input Description:

User must develop or import satellite geometry then define surface material information, thruster locations and plume parameters, case study parameters such as sputter yield coefficients, orbit, hours of thruster operation, etc.

Point of Contact:

Barbara Gardner
Program Manager
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
San Diego, CA  92121

Phone:  858-826-1614
EMail:  Barbara.M.Gardner@saic.com
 

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