FreeFlyer Engineering Team
The release of FreeFlyer 7.10 marks an important step in the evolution of our astrodynamics and mission operations software. Missions today face a new level of complexity: constellations numbering in the hundreds or thousands, high-bandwidth payloads, cislunar trajectories, and the ever-present need for sustainability and space safety. FreeFlyer 7.10 brings new tools that meet these challenges head-on, giving engineers the ability to design, analyze, and operate missions with more precision and confidence than ever before.
In our August 2025 webinar, our engineering team Dr. Nathan Griffith, Luke Schoenwetter, and Nate McCoun introduced the highlights of this release and explained how these new capabilities directly address industry challenges.
Optical Communications: Closing the Link
Dr. Nathan Griffith presented one of the most exciting additions to FreeFlyer: the new optical communications modeling capability. Optical (laser-based) links have quickly moved from experimental demonstrations to a central role in the way space missions will transmit data in the coming decade. Compared to traditional radio frequency systems, optical comms offer dramatically higher data rates, lower power requirements, smaller and lighter hardware, and narrower beams that increase both efficiency and security.
But these advantages come with challenges that mission designers cannot ignore. Atmospheric effects like scattering, and scintillation can reduce link reliability, while narrower beams provide more gain but also make pointing accuracy far more demanding. Even the design of the receiver and the choice of modulation format can make the difference between a system that works under real-world conditions and one that fails to close the link.
FreeFlyer 7.10 provides a modeling environment where engineers can account for all of these factors. The new tools allow users to simulate full link budgets from transmitter to receiver, incorporate atmospheric visibility data and turbulence effects, and compare the performance of different hardware and encoding schemes. Receiver models include devices such as avalanche photodiodes and PIN detectors, with realistic noise sources captured.
Engineers can test modulation schemes like OOK, PPM, and DPSK to see how each performs under various conditions. With these capabilities, FreeFlyer makes it possible to answer practical questions such as whether a 300 mW optical system can really deliver HD video from the lunar surface to Earth long before hardware is deployed.
Multi-Objective Optimization: Exploring the Trade Space
Luke Schoenwetter introduced the second major addition in FreeFlyer 7.10: a multi-objective optimization engine designed to tackle the reality that missions rarely have just one goal. Engineers often need to minimize fuel use while also minimizing time, maximize coverage while reducing cost, or balance scientific return against operational risk. These competing objectives create a design space where the “best” solution depends entirely on which tradeoffs a program is willing to accept.
FreeFlyer now makes those tradeoffs visible. With the new optimizer, users can define multiple objectives and run genetic algorithms that evolve solutions across generations. Instead of outputting a single “answer,” the optimizer produces a Pareto front curve or surface that shows the set of solutions that cannot be improved in one metric without sacrificing another. This gives engineers the ability to understand not just one feasible option but the shape of the entire trade space.
For example, planners studying an asteroid tour can now see which trajectories minimize both delta-V and transit time, and exactly how much one metric must give way if the other is prioritized. Constellation designers can explore how different orbital configurations affect both coverage and fuel expenditure for station-keeping. These insights allow engineering teams and decision-makers to choose solutions that align with program priorities, rather than relying on trial-and-error or simplified assumptions.
Additional Enhancements in FreeFlyer 7.10
As Nate McCoun highlighted, FreeFlyer 7.10 delivers improvements beyond the two headline features. One enhancement is the introduction of integrated trajectory phases for advanced optimization workflows, giving users greater flexibility in building up complex scenarios step by step. Another is the addition of a minimum norm solver, which provides a lighter-weight alternative for certain constraint-solving tasks where speed is critical.
Support for DSN pseudo-noise ranging has also been added, improving the fidelity of navigation and tracking analyses. On the systems side, FreeFlyer now officially supports RHEL9, ensuring that it can be integrated seamlessly into modern ground architectures without compatibility concerns. To make these features more accessible, the release also includes 15 new sample mission plans, covering a wide range of applications from Mars surface-to-Earth optical links and multi-impulse rendezvous to large constellation scheduling and contact analysis. These ready-to-run examples help users quickly apply the new capabilities to real-world problems.
Why This Release Matters
FreeFlyer has always been about giving engineers the ability to solve the hardest problems in astrodynamics and mission operations. With 7.10, we have expanded that toolkit to include the capabilities that will define the next decade of missions. Optical communications are poised to become essential for cislunar and deep-space exploration. Multi-objective optimization is key to managing the increasing complexity of constellation design and interplanetary trajectory planning. Expanded solver options, improved navigation fidelity, and support for modern operating systems ensure that FreeFlyer is ready to support the missions that will shape the next era of space exploration.
For more than 25 years, FreeFlyer has powered missions for NASA, the U.S. Space Force, the Air Force, and leading commercial operators. The software has been flight-proven across hundreds of spacecrafts, from Earth observation constellations to interplanetary observatories. With FreeFlyer 7.10, that legacy continues providing not only trusted accuracy but also the forward-looking features required for a rapidly changing industry.
🚀 FreeFlyer 7.10 is available now. Download the new release today and discover how it can power your next mission.
