Once you derive the equations of motion for a system, the next step in simulating it numerically is to compute the state-space representation, the backbone of modern contorl theroy. This is useful because by placing the equations of motion in a common format we can apply a whole host of techniques to study the system.…
Does your Twitter feed not have enough space in it? Introducing Space Bot A new twitter bot dedicated to all things space. What Space Bot Does So Far Plots ground tracks for random objects in space Shows the two objects likeliest to collied that day, as well as when their closest approach will be. Note:…
Whenever I made plots for my work on neural networks, they were always flat and boring. Then, a few weeks ago, I had an idea for visualizing a neural network “thinking” through a problem as it was solving it. Using my work on artificial intelligence to control interplanetary trajectories, I created up the following gif.…
A few month’s ago Primer, a great youtube channel that you should check out, posted the following question on Twitter Before I go over my thinking and then show some numerical simulations, take a moment and think it over. If you’ve already got the answer you can check out other numerical probability puzzles here. My…
Last week in my lab’s journal club I was presenting on two white papers detailing the reasoning for possible missions to explore the outer solar system. These papers are part of the Astro2020 decadal survey, and I figured I would share some thoughts on them here. As both papers are short (<10 pages each) and…
Space is Hard From ionizing radiation to micrometeoroids, space is a dangerous place. Most spacecraft, when they feel threatened, can autonomously enter into a protective operating mode call safe mode. Different spacecraft do different things in safe mode, but most turn off all non-essential components, like propulsion and the payload, to focus all energy on…
TLDR: The Surface Pro is a great personal laptop replacement, but don’t expect it to replace a workstation. Intro This isn’t going to be a numbers based review. I’m not going to run benchmarks, talk about the screen refresh rate , or rattle off the specs of every component in my Surface Pro. Instead, I’m…
Inverted Pendulum Recap In this post, we’re going to talk a little about how to balance an inverted pendulum on a cart. This is the second post in a 3 part series about balancing an inverted pendulum Part 1 – Balancing an inverted pendulum Part 2 – Swing-Up of an Inverted Pendulum on a Cart…
TLDR I’ve launched a new website that I manage at a much lower level to allow me to explore things like interactive graphics and demonstrations. It’s arirubin.space, and while currently sparse, you should check it out! What I was Looking For To understand the choices I made in setting up arirubin.space, it’s best to start with…
A Quick Estimate A few days ago I was invited to take part in a mock architecture study looking at Deep Space CubeSat missions. As a multi-body dynamics fanboy, my heart jumped at the possibility of using the interplanetary superhighway to preserve our meager delta-V budget. The downside of using the interplanetary superhighway is that…
