A GENERIC MULTIBODY SIMULATION by K. A. Hopping, Principal Engineer

This paper describes a dynamic simulation package which can be configured for orbital test scenarios involving multiple bodies. The rotational and translational state integration methods are selectable for each individual body and may be changed during a run if necessary. Characteristics of the bodies are determined by assigning components consisting of mass properties, forces, and moments, which are the outputs of user-defined environment models. Generic model implementation is facilitated by a transformation processor which performs coordinate frame conversions. Transformations are defined in the initialization file as part of the simulation configuration. The simulation package includes an initialization processor, which consists of a command line preprocessor, a general purpose grammar, and a syntax scanner. These permit specification of the bodies, their interrelationships, and their initial states in a format that is not dependent upon a particular test scenario.