Overview of Solar Sail Mission Design Implementation

Discipline: Flight Mechanics

This presentation provides a comprehensive exploration of the key challenges encountered in the design of solar sails. It delves into various facets of development, including material testing, mission planning, trajectory optimization, precise thrust modeling for flexible membranes, actuator sizing, and the implementation of guidance, navigation, and control systems, with a particular emphasis on effective momentum management.

About the Speaker
Naeem Ahmad is the Guidance Lead at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and has over 10 years of experience designing guidance systems for the Space Launch System (Artemis), Lunar Landers (HLS) and Solar Sail design. In addition, Naeem has supported development of novel Flywheel systems, lead GN&C development of Small-Sat program as well as Product development Lead for NASA’s Onboard Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM) Rendezvous and Proximity Operations(RPO) subsystem. Currently, Naeem is the Guidance Lead supporting various DoD Strategic Defense missions with emphasis across all phases, from Boost and Re-Entry to Terminal Operations.