The Navigation and Mission Design Branch (NMDB) of the Goddard Space Flight Center has provided a complete array of flight dynamics services to the space flight community for over four decades. NMDB has refined and enhanced its capabilities through experience with all aspects of government, university, international, and, increasingly, commercial flight projects. NMDB functions are presently grouped into two discrete, but integrated areas of support: Mission Design and Navigation.

NMDB’s efforts include 'proof of concept' studies for proposed missions, pre-launch preparation for funded missions, and in-flight operational support for on-orbit spacecraft. All mission phases of the trajectory are analyzed, including ascent from the injection orbit to the mission orbit, maintaining the mission orbit, and end-of-life disposal. NMDB works with project managers and principal investigators throughout the complete mission life cycle to provide practical value, continuity and expertise. From conceptualization through post-mission analysis, NMDB’s team members partner with their customers to ensure cost-effective success.

NMDB provides the level of support requested to accommodate customer and mission needs and resources, from back-of-the-envelope to high fidelity numerical computations. Significant experience in both preflight analysis and on-orbit operations provides NMDB analysts with a strong understanding of available options and the effects of mission design choices on mission operations. In addition, NMDB’s capabilities include leading edge research and development of in-house and Commercial Off the Shelf Software (COTS) analysis tools.

The mission design and analysis capabilities within the NMDB are at the forefront of the industry. In addition to our experience, our expertise, and our systems, our people stand ready, willing, and able to work with you and your project team at any stage of your mission to provide value in the form of practical, targeted, and cost-effective solutions. Please contact us to explore opportunities for working together or to engage our team members in helping make your mission a success. We look forward to hearing from you and to helping address your flight dynamics needs.