Note: This post is adapted from a conference paper of mine presented at the Astrodynamics Specialists Conference in Summer 2021. You can read the full paper here. Abstract – Design of Solar Sailing Trajectories Resilient to Safe Mode Events Solar sails are an enabling technology for stand-alone small-satellite deep-space exploration. However, their always-on nature, combined…
TLDR: 100 km above the atmosphere Gravity assists are an astrodynamics maneuver to steal a small amount of a planet’s angular momentum to give your spacecraft a much more significant boost. Exactly how much momentum you can steal is defined by the arrival velocity vector relative to the planet and the maximum turning angle you…
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,…
In astrodynamics, when you need high-quality Ephemeris data for some celestial body, you generally turn to NASA’s NAIF’s (Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility) SPICE toolkit. Because the setup of SPICE with non-standard bodies is a one-off step and usually the first step in several of my projects, it’s something I only do a handful of…
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…
Note: This post is adapted from my conference paper, which was presented at the Space Flight Mechanics Conference in Winter 2021. You can read the full paper here. Abstract – Expected Thrust Fraction: Resilient Trajectory Design Applied to the Earth Return Orbiter Electric propulsion is an enabling technology for NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission that affords an…
The Sun is BIG Quick question, which exerts a greater force on the Moon, The Sun, or the Earth? Newton’s law of universal gravitation provides us with the following relation for calculating the force on an object where G is the universal gravitational constant, m1/m2 are the masses of the two objects, and r12 is…
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…
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…
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…
