Related papers: Desaturation Maneuvers and Precise Orbit Determina…
We address the question of to what accuracy remote sensing images of the surface of planets can be matched, so that the possible displacement of features on the surface can be accurately measured. This is relevant in the context of the…
The ExoMars mission of the program Aurora (ESA) aims to send a vehicle (Rover) on Mars in 2013. Beyond the technological aspects of the mission, the Rover will also carry scientific instruments for the analysis of Mars subsurface to search…
The Solar Close Observations and Proximity Experiments (SCOPE) mission will send a spacecraft into the solar atmosphere at a low altitude of just 5 R_sun from the solar center. It aims to elucidate the mechanisms behind solar eruptions and…
Recently, Will calculated an additional contribution to the Mercury's precession of the longitude of perihelion $\varpi$ of the order of $\dot\varpi_\textrm{W}\simeq 0.22$ $\textrm{milliarcseconds per century}$ ($\textrm{mas cty}^{-1}$). It…
One of the greatest challenge facing current space weather monitoring operations is forecasting the arrival of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) within their Earth-Sun propagation timescales. Current…
Given a set of astrometric observations of the same object, the problem of orbit determination is to compute the orbit and to assess its uncertainty and reliability. For the next generation surveys, with much larger number density of…
Exploration of terrestrial planets such as Mars are conducted using orbiters, landers and rovers. Cameras and instruments onboard orbiters have enabled global mapping of Mars at low spatial resolution. Landers and rovers such as the Mars…
The beam-crossing is a novel technique aimed at reducing residual tropospheric Doppler noise for microwave radiometer calibrations. In this work, we report the findings of the first test of this technique using ESA's Tropospheric Delay…
The precise knowledge of the positions of space debris objects and in particular of defunct satellites is fundamental for satellite operations. Several studies showed that it is possible to improve the accuracy of the orbit determination…
Mercury is expected to deviate from the classical Cassini state since this state is defined for a uniformly precessing rigid planet. We develop an extended Cassini state model that includes the variations (or nutations) in obliquity and…
Analytical approximations are commonly employed in the initial trajectory design phase of a mission to rapidly explore a broad design space. In the context of an asteroid deflection mission, accurately predicting deflection is crucial to…
This research proposes an innovative approach to detumble satellites' triple-axis angular velocities with only one single-axis magnetic torquer. Since magnetic torque is generated perpendicularly to magnetorquers, no intended control torque…
Large-scale neutrino telescopes have the primary objective to detect and characterize neutrino sources in the universe. These experiments rely on the detection of charged leptons produced in the interaction of neutrinos with nuclei. Angular…
A global model is presented that can be used to study attitude maneuvers of a rigid spacecraft in a circular orbit about a large central body. The model includes gravity gradient effects that arise from the non-uniform gravity field and…
The possibility of measuring the post-Newtonian gravitoelectric correction to the orbital period of a test particle freely orbiting a spherically symmetric mass in the Solar System is analyzed. It should be possible, in principle, to detect…
The accuracy of orbit determination has a strong impact on the scientific output of the Space VLBI mission RadioAstron. The aim of this work is to improve the RadioAstron orbit reconstruction by means of sophisticated dynamical modelling of…
A possible mean to stabilize the LEO debris population is to remove each year 5 heavy debris like spent satellites or launchers stages from that space region. This paper investigates the DeltaV requirement for such a Space Debris Collecting…
CubeSats are emerging as low-cost tools to perform astronomy, exoplanet searches and earth observation. These satellites can target an object for science observation for weeks on end. This is typically not possible on larger missions where…
The precise insertion of CubeSats into designated orbits is a complex task, primarily due to the limited propulsion capabilities and constrained fuel reserves onboard, which severely restrict the scope for large orbital corrections. This…
All powered spacecraft experience residual systematic acceleration due to anisotropy of the thermal radiation pressure and fuel leakage. The residual acceleration limits the accuracy of any test of gravity that relies on the precise…