Advanced Space Promotes Thomas Gardner to Chief Engineer

Advanced Space Promotes Thomas Gardner to Chief Engineer

Westminster, CO – Advanced Space, LLC, a leading space tech solutions company, is pleased to announce the promotion of Thomas Gardner to Chief Engineer. Gardner, who has served as Director of Engineering for Advanced Space since 2016, will be responsible for the full scope of Advanced Space’s growing portfolio and our expanding engineering team. He also will be responsible for the department budget, meeting departmental metrics and goals, and making personnel decisions. His work will include reviewing and approving the work of the engineers who report to him along with attending design reviews, test plan reviews, design failure mode and effect analysis (DFMEA) meetings, and other critical design function meetings to make sure their people are following best practices and internal/industry standards. He will collaborate with the Project Managers to get the right people assigned to projects and get projects done and occasionally manage or supervise small projects that don’t require a Project Manager. (more…)

Plotting Orbits: Using Math and Lessons Learned to Plan Orbits for the Lunar Gateway

Plotting Orbits: Using Math and Lessons Learned to Plan Orbits for the Lunar Gateway

For several years now, Advanced Space has analyzed orbital dynamics for the Lunar Gateway. Supporting the Gateway’s Mission Design and Navigation (MDNAV) team, located primarily at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, these analyses have helped inform station requirements; develop concepts of operations; plan for contingencies; and assist with other planning activities. Our experience with operating the CAPSTONE™ mission in the unique near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) environment has enabled us to help NASA understand the best ways to operate spacecraft in that orbit. These results have been shared with the Gateway team and at industry conferences. (more…)

PILOTing Through the Magnetosphere: Using Mission Design to Advance Science

PILOTing Through the Magnetosphere: Using Mission Design to Advance Science

Not so long ago (2022), Advanced Space collaborated with a team of science and engineering organizations to help design a science mission to study the effects of the biggest space weather maker in the solar system: the Sun. The mission concept, called Plasma Imaging, LOcal measurement, and Tomographic experiment (PILOT), is designed to measure the flow of cold, dense plasma into and out of Earth’s magnetosphere to better understand how the interaction between Sun and Earth’s planetary magnetic field defines the evolution of our planetary atmosphere. To measure these flows in real time requires a fleet of 34 satellites revolving around the Earth in two different orbits to capture plasma movement at different spatial and temporal scales.
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