Mission lesson
Point it where you want it.
Stage 1 of 7
Mission
Who you are, what you are finding out, and what success looks like.
Showing stage 1 of 7: Mission
Mission
Telling a spacecraft where to point is easy. Getting it there is the hard part, and it is the controller that does the work. Your team will run the same manoeuvre with two different controllers and find out what a more accurate one actually costs.
A stronger controller points more accurately. What does that cost the spacecraft?
- Your role
- Attitude-control engineer
- Objective
- Compare two bounded control responses and recommend the one that best balances pointing accuracy and actuator demand.
- Success looks like
- Run both responses, compare the modeled benefit and cost, select evidence, and state a control-model limitation.
Learning outcomes · Grades 9–10
What you should be able to do, and the evidence that shows it.
- 01By the end of this mission, the learner will be able to quantify the improvement in final pointing error between the two controllers, and demonstrate this by reporting the difference with units.
- 02By the end of this mission, the learner will be able to model why a stronger controller reaches the target faster but demands more of the actuators, and demonstrate this by relating gain to turning rate.
- 03By the end of this mission, the learner will be able to test whether either controller stays within the stated actuator authority, and demonstrate this by comparing both saturation counts against that limit.
Preparation
Before we start
A quick check of what you already know. There is no score.
The idea behind the mission
Two runs, one difference: the controller. Same spacecraft, same starting position, same limit on how hard the wheels can push.
Accuracy is bought, not free
A controller that corrects harder gets closer to the target, but it has to turn the spacecraft faster and push the reaction wheels harder to do it. Wheels have limits. When one runs out of authority it cannot help any more, however much the controller asks.
Predict before you run
Before you run anything: which controller will finish closer to the target, and why?
Which controller will finish closer to the target, and why?
At least 20 characters — say what you expect and why.
Readiness
This is a local preparation check. It is not Challenge qualification and creates no official attempt.
- Mission objective and success criterion reviewed: not done yet
- Preparation diagnostic answered: not done yet
- Mission theory reviewed: not done yet
- Prediction recorded: not done yet
The set-up you will run
These are the two set-ups you will compare. They are fixed on purpose: if only one thing differs between your runs, anything that changes was caused by it.
Baseline case
Weak controller
Candidate case
Tuned controller
- Write your prediction first.
- Change nothing except the controller.
- These results come from a model, not from a real spacecraft.
Units stay attached to every result: angles in degrees (°), time in seconds (s), power in watts (W), energy in watt-hours (Wh), battery state in percent (%), and elevation in degrees (°) where available.
Finish every preparation item above first; then this can be confirmed.
Official qualification: false. This acknowledgement stays in this browser.
Operate
Readiness required
Complete every preparation requirement, then confirm readiness before operating the Twin.
Run the weak controller first, then the tuned one. Nothing else changes.
Baseline
Weak controller
Candidate
Tuned controller
Run the baseline first so you have something to compare against.
- Weak controller: not run in this session yet
- Tuned controller: not run in this session yet
Evidence
Run a Digital Twin case first
The results fill in once the Twin has produced evidence. The decision, limits and knowledge check can be read now.
Read the evidence
Read both charts. The first is the job being done; the second is what it cost.
Run the Twin to produce evidence.
Complete
Readiness required
Finish the required run or comparison, select evidence, make a decision and answer the knowledge check. Then reflect here and finalize.
Completion records the work you did; it does not mean mastery, qualification, or an official grade.
Reflect
Which signal decided your control recommendation, and why would one successful simulation not qualify a flight controller?
At least 20 characters. Editing this or any source work after completion invalidates the local record.
Your formative result
Revisit the mission evidence
Formative · not an official grade
No formative evidence has been recorded yet.
Formative band: revisit. Any formative band may complete the mission. Official grade: none.
Finish the required run or comparison, select evidence, make a decision, answer the formative assessment, and complete your reflection.
Recognition
Lane C provides a private local-practice record. Verified recognition remains a separate Platform workflow.
Complete the mission first
Finalize the mission to create a local-practice record on this device.
Finalize the mission to create a local-practice record on this device.
Home mission
Home mission: stopping on a line
Walk quickly to a line on the floor and stop exactly on it. Then do it slowly. Write down which was more accurate, which was faster, and what the quick version cost you.