IB Extended Essay with KSP! Please Help!

[henryrasia]

Helo everyone,

I'm currently an 11th grader just starting the International Baccalaureate program. One of it's requirements is a 4000-word long essay on some research question. I am very interested in aerospace engineering, and think is what I'll take on as a career, though I'm not sure. The reason is that it combines all the engineerings I like. The space shuttle, for example, was a spaceship, an airplane, had software in it (astronautics, aeronautics, and software); also, future mars bases will require building structures (houses, tunnels, etc) and other vehicles (structural, mechanical, chemical).

With that being said, 4000 words (not a single word more, mind you!) isn't that long for a physics essay, even with the data, labels, equations, titles, etc not counting. Therefore I thought that KSP might be a great way to simulate and carry out orbital maneuvers, ignoring n-body physics of course. I was thinking on how different orbits make for different uses (polar for mapping, geostationary for communications). Another idea is how orbital infrastructure and transportation trajectories will be when we get mining Helium-3 on the moon, that's a cool idea, right?

Questions:

• To everyone: What are your opinions in general and on the topics I mentioned?
  
• If anyone did IB Physics HL: Are these ideas reasonable?
  
• To anyone knows about these subjects: What would an interesting and useful-to-the-real-world research topic? Would simulations in KSP be too easy / too hard / too imprecise?
  
• To the engineers out there: Any advice on career path?
  

Many thanks to any responses, I really appreciate them

-HenryRasia

PS: Just so people know. My first idea was to analyse different wing designs. But that would require a wind tunnel and serious maths, and wouldn't be very useful because airplane efficiency lies more on the engine. But I believe that is beyond my capabilities.

Edited September 21, 2014 by henryrasia

[TythosEternal]

• To everyone: What are your opinions in general and on the topics I mentioned?
  

The problems you mentioned are well-studied and basically solved, in the sense that all the interesting work was done years ago. This is particularly true for the restricted two-body design space. What novel developments have recently been made or discovered are nearly all multi-body, non-linear, and/or non-spherical solutions with very specific applications. Within that domain, there is room for some juicy mission-planning problems, but you will need a heavy background in multi-variable calculus, differential equations, and nonlinear optimization.

• If anyone did IB Physics HL: Are these ideas reasonable?
  

I can't answer with this particular perspective, but I suspect they are looking for more novel and scientific problems and approaches. People with the relevant experience in the program are welcome to correct me if this isn't the case.

• To anyone knows about these subjects: What would an interesting and useful-to-the-real-world research topic? Would simulations in KSP be too easy / too hard / too imprecise?
  

Too easy, and to imprecise. The closest real-world topic I can think of that is both marginally relevant to KSP and appropriate for the 11th-grade level (forgive me if your skills are above that level; they probably are if you're thinking of these kinds of ideas) would be the modeling of solar systems formation, a la some kind of geophysics-based Planet Factory. Run initial protoplanetary disc distributions through an angular momentum and accretion model (or models) and see what stabilities converge (I.e., planets form). Specific post-convergence material distributions would be particularly interesting, I think. You could then conclude by comparing the results to something like the published Kepler distribution findings. This, of course, is just one suggestion.

• To the engineers out there: Any advice on career path?
  

At your level, focus on math and physics. Take as much calculus and AP physics as you can (AP chemistry is also a good one). Labs and science-based extracurriculars (i.e., rocket launching, hobby electronics, taking extra science classes at your local college, etc.) are also good steps, since you will need these to appeal to a good engineering program.

In college, focus on strong fundamentals. Learn project- and design-based techniques from a solid set of labs. Choose one specialty at the beginning of your junior year that you can stay passionate about and sink your teeth into. If you can get your name on a paper by the time you graduate, you'll have a substantial leg up.

After college, either get a Masters developing your specialty with an appropriate program and/or field expert or go straight to getting your foot in the door by any means necessary (including an unpaid summer internship, if you don't have better choices). Once your foot is in--even it's just a technical writing spot--everything will start falling into place. Just make sure you self-advocate and have a good work ethic.

Good luck!

Edited September 21, 2014 by TythosEternal
So many typos...

[henryrasia]

TythosEternal, thanks so much for your extensive answer!

So what space mission you think could make for interesting mission planning? It needs to be tied in to a real world situation, that's why I thought about Helium-3 and the lack of satellites on the Moon. And if the details can't get me over 4000 words, so I might have to restrict analysis if it's too interesting (lol). Any ideas?

[TythosEternal]

Let me use some Google-fu to look up some more details about this particular program, and I'll get back to you later tonight. If you're intent on researching and writing about a particular mission, the Helium-3 research is a good topic, provided you can find sufficient source material. Something the community would be happy to crowd-source and translate, if needed, I suspect.

[henryrasia]

Also, it would be good to have a simulator that could verify my calculations. Sadly, KSP doesn't have n-body simulation. But what about Orbiter? Or some other space sim I've never heard of? I know Universe Sandbox does, but that's for planetary motion, not spacecraft. Space Engine still doesn't simulate physics, right?

Just checked. No it doesn't and probably never will. Bummer.

[TythosEternal]

Here's some context, for reference:

The extended essay asks students to engage in independent research through an in-depth study of a question relating to one of the DP subjects they are studying. The world studies extended essay option allows students to focus on a topic of global significance which they examine through the lens of at least two DP subjects.

The extended essay is an independent, self-directed piece of research, culminating in a 4,000-word paper. As a required component, it provides:

• practical preparation for the kinds of undergraduate research required at tertiary level
  
• an opportunity for students to engage in an in-depth study of a topic of interest within a chosen subject.
  

Emphasis is placed on the research process:

• formulating an appropriate research question
  
• engaging in a personal exploration of the topic
  
• communicating ideas
  
• developing an argument.
  

Participation in this process develops the capacity to:

• analyse
  
• synthesize, and
  
• evaluate knowledge.
  

Students are supported throughout the process with advice and guidance from a supervisor (usually a teacher at the school).

Based on the above, I was mistaken in my original assessment--I had the impression that this was a theory-and-experiment requirement, whereas it actually seems to be more of a research project. In that case, researching appropriate work regarding (for example) Helium-3 harvesting and developing a realistic mission plan would, in my opinion, be an excellent candidate. Here are some good starting points for reading:

• https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-031306-122626/unrestricted/IQP.pdf
  
• http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.IAC-04-IAA.3.7.P.02
  
• http://www.incose.org/cleveland/RS09/Abstracts.htm
  

The second item is an AIAA article. If your adviser can't help you access a copy, give me a PM. The third item includes an abstract of interest (second in the list); I'd recommend reaching out to the author (his UW profile, http://www.wisc.edu/directories/person.php?name=HARRISON+H+SCHMITT&email=schmitt%40engr.wisc.edu, might be your best shot).

Don't forget Google Scholar...

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=lunar+helium-3&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=

[henryrasia]

Hey again! Update!

So, I've decided to predict the trajectories using KSP's sphere of influence solution, my supervisor says it'll be fine. Later I'll have to assess the accuracy of such a prediction (still figuring out how...) and thus evaluate the method (is this solution OK for this application?). However, I still want to do a simulation to illustrate the situation, and so I ask, what simulation software to use?

I've thought about KSP with Realism Overhaul, but it's not exactly reputable as a simulator... I've also thought of Orbiter, but it also doesn't use advanced simulation.

I've been researching a little bit and found that there are some serious simulators out there: STK, FreeFlyer, and GMAT. Would these be of any use?

Finally, My plan is somewhat as follows, any help is appreciated!

1. Get data (from reputable sources) about launch vehicles (basic capabilities only), GPS satellites (and decide which), and celestial bodies (Earth, Moon)
   
2. Calculate Lunar GPS constellation requirements (least number of orbits? At what inclinations? Number of satellites per orbit? Position delay between them?)
   
3. Calculate best transfer orbits (best initial parking orbit. Best launch center (does it matter?))
   
4. Calculate margin of error (HOW?)
   
5. Calculate GPS accuracy and limitations (HOW?)
   
6. Simulate predicted orbits, analyse.
   
7. Conclude considering everything explored above.
   

Of course, I'm not asking to crowdsource my project, but any advice or opinion whatsoever is helpful. I might even add you (as a community) to the acknowledgements!

[KSK]

Hi Henryrasia,

This sounds like quite a project - best of luck with it!

I'm probably stating the blindingly obvious but you'll need some kind of realism mod if you plan to use KSP as a tool, purely to make sure you're working to the right scale. Predicting real-life trajectories from a 1/10 scale game might be tricky. You'll probably also want a mod that gives you actual numbers for your in-game orbits - does Mechjeb do this? If you have time (and words to spare), I think it would be interesting to compare KSP predictions with those from one of the serious simulators you mention.

A couple of websites that might be helpful:

Rocket and Space Technology. Apologies if this is a bit too basic but it does include some nice worked examples of translunar trajectory calculations.

Apollo by the Numbers - all the data you could ever want for the Saturn V and Apollo missions, from a pretty reliable source. I thought this might be a useful source for information on launch vehicle capabilities, and it might also help for evaluating KSP predicted trajectories against real life examples.

[Yru0]

Hi Henry! First off, darn it why didn't I think of this?!

I'm currently in my second year of IB and nearing the final stretch for my own EE so figured I'd pop a post. I can't help with the actual nitty-gritty side of things other than saying that it looks really cool, but if you've got any Qs about the EE in general I may be able to help. I'm doing mine in geography rather than physics, but there's no shortage of orbital mechanics experts here so no big loss.

My key tips for EE (probably all been repeated many times before to you):

- Hit the deadlines for your drafts and planning, otherwise everything piles on at the worst possible time. i.e. I've got friends who have had to type up an essay from scratch in a weekend - emotional breakdowns have ensued.

- When you're writing it up or planning it, keep the criteria and the mark scheme by your side. At the end of the day the EE involves jumping through a series of hoops no matter which way you cut it.

- Pick a topic which interests you. I think you've covered this one pretty well, but worth throwing in there anyway.

- Add your references as you go. Speaking with experience, backtracking to locate webpages in your browser history and the like is a pain in the rear.

On a rough-guess, I'd say your initial ideas go well beyond the scope of HL phys. The closest would be the fields and forces topic but that doesn't really touch upon orbital transfers at all. I do like the sound of some of the research topics that you've brought up, and I think they'd be fun to go into. The one catch I'd say is make sure that it will fit as a physics EE. This is a major problem my school has run into with science EEs. Initially people were told that making it experiment-based was very important, but then midway through were told to throw half of their method and data into an appendix. This has scared a ton of us off from doing an EE in science, so I'd urge you to check with your supervisor whether or not they believe a secondary-research, non-experiment-based EE would be effective (a la looking at helium-3 on the moon, etc). You probably know more about what makes a good physics EE than me by this point, but that was an issue that hit some of my mates.

Hope my waffling is at least a tad helpful. Good luck!