Digital Simulation of an Aerospace Vehicle

Abstract

The rapid development of computer technology and the creation of new engineering oriented languages have established that general purpose digital computers are increasingly suitable for simulation of the dynamics of large physical systems. In the Aerospace Vehicle Simulation (AVS) Program, an effort has been undertaken at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, Alabama, to simulate continuous and discrete dynamics of an aerospace vehicle and its ground support equipment (GSE) on a large digital computer. AVS is primarily being developed as a major tool for the checkout of space vehicles, but eventually it will become an essential part of an integrated engineering information system which can be used by various laboratories at MSFC for the design, checkout, and management of space vehicles.