books in black wooden book shelf

My Grad School Stats and Unsolicited Advice

Earlier this year I (successfully!) defended my dissertation titled “Design of Missed Thrust Resilient Trajectories Using Expected Thrust Fraction” and have now obtained my Doctorate of Philosophy. As, could have been expected, my dissertation was on Expected Thrust Fraction (Theory of Expected thrust fraction, an application to Mars Sample Return and Solar Sailing) Dissertation Abstract  “Low-thrust…

Measuring Resilience Of Autonomous Controllers To Missed Thrust Events – ESA GNC – 2021

Note: This post is adapted from my conference paper, which was presented at the 11th International ESA Conference on Guidance, Navigation & Control Systems. You can read the full paper here. Abstract – Measuring Resilience Of Autonomous Controllers To Missed Thrust Events On A Mars To Earth Trajectory As spacecraft adopt low-thrust electric propulsion to reduce propellant mass,…

Designing Trajectories Resilient to Missed Thrust Events Using Expected Thrust Fraction – Aerospace Science and Technology

Note: This post is adapted from my journal paper, which was accepted to Aerospace Science and Technology in Spring 2021. You can read the full paper here Abstract – Designing Trajectories Resilient to Missed Thrust Events Using Expected Thrust Fraction With the adoption of efficient low-thrust propulsion methods, the probability of a missed thrust event…

Designing Trajectories Resilient to Missed Thrust Events Using Expected Thrust Fraction – ASC- 2020

Note: This post is adapted from my conference paper, which was presented at the Astrodynamics Specialists Conference in Summer 2020. You can read the full paper here. Abstract – Designing Trajectories Resilient to Missed Thrust Events Using Expected Thrust Fraction With the adoption of efficient low-thrust propulsion methods, the probability of a missed thrust event occurring has…

Using Reinforcement Learning to Design Missed Thrust Resilient Trajectories – ASC- 2020

Note: This post is adapted from my conference paper, that I presented at the Astrodynamics Specialists Conference in Summer 2020. You can read the full paper here. Abstract – Using Reinforcement Learning to Design Missed Thrust Resilient Trajectories From ion thrusters to solar sails, spacecraft continue to adopt new and more efficient forms of propulsion. As…

Neural Network Optimal Control in Astrodynamics: Application to the Missed Thrust Problem – Acta Astronautica

Note: This post is adapted from my journal paper, which was accepted to Acta Astronautica in Spring 2020. You can read the full paper here Abstract – Neural Network Optimal Control in Astrodynamics While high-efficiency propulsion techniques are enabling new mission concepts in deep space exploration, their limited thrust capabilities necessitate long thrusting arcs and…

Main Branches of Astrodynamics

Earlier last week I was talking to one of my undergrads about the different subspecialties in astrodynamics and I’ve decided to distill that conversation into the following blogpost. Trajectory Design The best-known sub-specialty of astrodynamics, and the one that I’m in, is trajectory design. We answer questions like how do we get from Earth to…