Maximum likelihood estimation for distributed parameter models of flexible spacecraft

A distributed-parameter model of the NASA Solar Array Flight Experiment spacecraft structure is constructed on the basis of measurement data and analyzed to generate a priori estimates of modal frequencies and mode shapes. A Newton-Raphson maximum-likelihood algorithm is applied to determine the unknown parameters, using a truncated model for the estimation and the full model for the computation of the higher modes. Numerical results are presented in a series of graphs and briefly discussed, and the significant improvement in computation speed obtained by parallel implementation of the method on a supercomputer is noted.