Résumé

 

Chauncey W. Uphoff

7020 Elm St.

Longmont, Colorado 80503

U.S.A.

 

Telephone:            (303) 652-3591                                (303) 652-3976  Fax

 

Education: B.S. Physics, University of New Hampshire 1967.

                        Graduate Courses in Advanced Dynamical Theories, Quantum Mechanics, and Mathematical Physics.  Continuing independent study in celestial mechanics and applied mathematics.

Professional

Summary: Extensive research in Astronautics and Astrodynamics and in systems design and development.  Broad background with major achievements in celestial mechanics and orbit prediction. Well versed in space mission analysis and design.  Well known for being extremely creative, often by taking an unconventional approach to design and troubleshooting.  Wrote the seminal design paper for the Clementine mission.  Won NASA Exceptional Service Medal for design of the Galileo mission satellite tour. Leading proponent of low thrust propulsion systems.  Winner of many awards for innovative orbit and mission design. 

 

Experience:

 1993 to Present           Consultant:  Independent, Specialist in Astrodynamics

                        Consultant in Astrodynamics and Mission Design for Ball Space Systems and Engineering Division, Teledesic Corporation, Boeing Commercial Space Company,  Computer Sciences Corporation, LEO-One Inc., Deskin Research Group, Inc.,Kistler Aerospace Corp.,  Fortune Eight Aerospace Industries Inc., LunaCorp Inc., Tethers Unlimited, Inc.  Advisor and lecturer to Colorado Space Grant College and NASA Center for Space Construction, University of Colorado.  Acting CEO, ACTA Consulting Group, Niwot, Colorado.

  

 1988 to 1993           Senior Astrodynamicist,  Ball Aerospace Systems Group, Boulder, Colorado.

                        Served as Chief of Astrodynamics for Space Systems Division, Ball Aerospace Systems Group.  Performed basic research in lunar transfer and lunar orbit mission design.  Designed RADARSAT and GFO exact repeat orbits. Advised and consulted on many innovative space mission designs.  Lectured at Colorado University Center for Space Construction and Space Grant College.  Inventor of U.S. Patent for a new method of continuous transfer between Earth and Moon requiring no nominal impulse.  Discovered new family of periodic orbits in the circular restricted three-body problem.    

 

 

1986 to 1987 Consultant and Supervisor, American Rocket Company.

                        Private consultant and later joined staff of the American Rocket Company.  Responsible for studies of optimal staging for AMROC's hybrid rocket booster.  Later supervisor in charge of astrodynamics and aerodynamics. Directly responsible for development and implementation of computer software for mission analysis, launch operations, and post-launch analysis.  Worked closely with the chief engineer in various aspects of launch vehicle design.

 

1975 to 1985 Member of the Technical Staff,   Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

                      Advance planning efforts for Mariner Jupiter Orbiter (Galileo) Joined the Advanced Projects Group at JPL.  Involved in advance studies for many proposed NASA missions and was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for work on the Galilean satellite tour.  Instrumental in the JPL decision to study the solar sail as a means to carry out deep space missions and to perform a rendezvous with Comet Halley. Designed the mission enabling frozen orbit for Mars Observer.  Responsible for development of advanced concepts for future deep space missions including such projects as Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar, Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous/Sample Return, Applications of Tethers in Space, and advanced lunar orbiters. Involved in advance studies of aerobraking for planetary orbit applications and In-situ-Propellant Production for manufacturing rocket propellant on the surface of Mars.  JPL duties involved interaction with scientists from other agencies like NASA, ESA, and members of science working groups from Universities.  Often dealt with public relations people both as a writer and as a source of information for external publication.

 

1972 to 1975 President and Senior Scientist, Vector Sciences, Inc.

                      Worked with partner as a two-man consulting firm performing software development and mission design for NASA GSFC, The Aerospace Corporation, McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  Began work, in 1973, on the orbital mechanics problem for a spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter.  This work was later incorporated into the mission design for what became the Galilean satellite tour portion of the Galileo Project.  Extended the method of numerical averaging to second order.  This extension allowed the very rapid simulation of Earth orbiters strongly perturbed by the combined, nonlinear effects of oblateness and atmospheric drag.

 

1969 to 1972 Senior Analyst, Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc.

                      Managed a branch office of AMA Inc. and continued the development of methods and computer software for use during actual space missions.  Under contract to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, designed and developed software that was later used during the RAE-B lunar orbit mission and during mission operations for IMP-H  (Explorer 38).  Designed the orbit for IMP-H  and developed the method of numerical averaging for orbit prediction. Worked closely with analysts and managers from NASA GSFC.  Gained valuable experience in space mission operations.

 

1963 to 1969 Mathematician and Engineer,  Douglas Aircraft Company. Developed a revolutionary method for predicting lunar satellite lifetimes. The technique became the basis of a software development contract for NASA and the software was used to provide information for mission command decisions during the IMP D&E lunar orbit missions.

 

Selected Recent Publications:

“The Terminator Tether: An Efficient Mechanism for End-of-Life Deorbit of Constellation Spacecraft” (with R. Forward & R. Hoyt), Presented to IAF International Workshop on Mission Design and Implementation of Satellite Constellations, Toulouse, France, 1997 Nov. 17-19.

 

"Variations in the Jacobian 'Constants' in the Restricted 4-Body Problem," Advances in Nonlinear Astrodynamics,  The Geometry Center,  Univ. of Minn.,  Nov. 1993.

 

"Is It SEP Yet?" (with R. Reinert & J. French)  30th Space Congress, Cocoa Beach, Fl.  April, 1993.

 

"Uncommon Sense in Orbit Mechanics"  AAS/GSFC International Symposium on Astrodynamics and Mission Design, Greenbelt, Md., April, 1993  (AAS 93-290).

 

"Practical Aspects of Transfer from GTO to Lunar Orbit"  GSFC Flight Mechanics / Estimation Theory Symposium,  Greenbelt Md.,  May 1992.

 

"Orbit Selection for the RADARSAT Exact Repeat Groundtrack" (with G. Redden) AAS/AIAA Spaceflight Mechanics Meeting,  Col. Springs, Co. Feb, 1992, (AAS 92-142).

 

"Lunar Cycler Orbits with Alternating Semi-Monthly Transfer Windows" (with M.A. Crouch),  Jrn. Astrn. Sc. , 41, No. 2, Apr-June 1993, pp. 189-205. (Original AAS 91-105).

 

U.S. Patent # 5,158,249,  "Orbital Systems for Cislunar Travel,"  Oct. 1992.

 

Lectures in Astrodynamics at Keldisch Institute and IKI, Moscow, Oct. 1990.

 

"Mission and System Design for a Network of Space Physics Explorers," (with R. Reinert),  28th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, Nev.,  Jan 1990, (AIAA90-0768).

 

"Preliminary Mission and System Design for a Solar Wind Sample Return Mission," (with R. Reinert),  Space Symposium, University of Florida, Melbourne, Fl. Feb. 1990.

 

"The Art and Science of Lunar Gravity Assist,"  AAS/GSFC International Symposium on Orbital Mechanics and Mission Design, Greenbelt, Md.  April, 1989.

 

"Mission & System Design for 1994 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter," (co-author with A. Delamere, et. al.), AIAA Annual Meeting, Reno, Nev. Jan. 1989.

 

Selected Past Publications:

 

Invited Lecture, "Solar Sails, The Key to Efficient Deep-Space Transportation," National Aerospace Museum,  Dedication of ISSE-3 as ICE,  Sept. 1986

 

"Orbit Selection for the Mars Observer Mission," AIAA Annual Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, Nev. Jan. 1985.

 

"Characteristics of a Dual Mission Concept for Intensive Study of Moon and Mars, or Moon and Asteroids." (with J. Stuart and R. Glickman). 21st Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, Nev. . (AIAA 83-0349).  Based on a suggestion by J. R. Stuart to examine "two stones with one bird.", Jan. 1983.

 

"Planetary Benchmarks," (with design team) JPL Study of Advanced Methods for Interplanetary 'Geodesy'. JPL TR    1983.

 

"Saturn Mission Options," AAS/AIAA Annual Meeting, Redding, Mass.  Aug. 1980.

 

"Mission Design Concepts for Jupiter Orbiter Missions," (with P.H. Roberts & L.D. Friedman), Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 13, June 1976,  pp. 348-355.

 

"Stabilizing Influence of Earth Perturbations on Polar Lunar Orbiters,"  AAS Astrodynamics Specialists Conference,  San Diego, Calif. Sept. 1975.

 

"The Long-Term Motion of Artificial Jovian Satellites,"  AAS Annual Meeting, Vail Colorado,  Aug. 1973.

 

"Numerical Averaging in Orbit Prediction,"  AIAA Journal,  Nov. 1973.

 

"The Long-Term Motion of Artificial Planetary Satellites,"  AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Anaheim, Calif. 1970.

 

"An Approximate Method for Predicting Lunar Orbit Satellite Lifetimes and Its Application to a Lunar Orbit Mission," AAS Spaceflight Mechanics Specialists Meeting, Denver, Co. Aug. 1966.

 

Many articles written for popular audience, including articles on solar sailing written for the Planetary Society, The L5 Society, and the World Space Foundation.  Co-author with Jonathan Post of non-fiction article in Arthur C. Clarke book "Project Solar Sail."

 

Frequent reviewer of technical papers for aerospace technical journals.  Frequent lecturer and instructor of ad hoc course "Computational Mission Analysis and Nitty-Gritty Space Mission Design," for Aerospace Science students at the University of Colorado at Boulder.