Rocket City Space Pioneers Use SolidWorks with their Google Lunar X PRIZE Entry

By DE Editors

Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. has announced that the Rocket City Space Pioneers (RCSP) will use SolidWorks software to “boost” its entry in the Google Lunar X PRIZE. The X PRIZE competition challenges and inspires engineers and entrepreneurs to develop low-cost methods for robotic space exploration.

A Huntsville, AL team is currently developing a low-cost lunar lander/rover system to send to the moon by 2014, which will be able to travel 500 meters and transmit video images and data back to the Earth. Led by Dynetics, the team comprising Teledyne Brown Engineering, Andrews Space, Spaceflight Services, Draper Laboratory, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and the Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation (VCSI) plans to be the first privately funded team to get to the moon.

Using SolidWorks CAD and simulation software, RCSP will be able to validate its designs for the lunar lander system, which will be capable of making a soft landing on a planetary body and deploying the rover. SolidWorks will allow RCSP to test its designs to ensure that the lander and rover stay within the specified dimensions and weight. With SolidWorks Simulation, RCSP can subject its designs to the same airflow, stress, and thermal conditions the system will experience while in orbit. RCSP is also using SolidWorks Enterprise PDM software for configuration management to ensure control over all design information across its diverse team.

“Choosing SolidWorks software for the X PRIZE competition was a natural extension of the work we do every day. SolidWorks has been Dynetics’ primary CAD software for automotive, space vehicle, and propulsion design since 2001,” says Ricky Jordan, lead mechanical engineer, Space Vehicles Department at Dynetics.

RCSP was one of six teams competing for the X PRIZE to be awarded the Innovative Lunar Demonstrations Data (ILDD) contract by NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The data from this contract will be used to develop future lander vehicles and exploration systems. RCS Precently delivered the system definition review (SDR) package to NASA, which contains the mission concept of operations, integrated vehicle design, engineering analysis, and technical data package on the subsystems. It provides the details of the RCSP’s system-level design as it relates to the overall mission. The system-level design ensures the readiness of the project to move to the implementation phase.

For more information, visit Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. and the X PRIZE site.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.