Related papers: Building Small-Satellites to Live Through the Kess…
Advancements in nanosatellite technology lead to more Earth-observation satellites in low-Earth orbit. We explore using nanosatellite constellations to achieve low-latency detection for time-critical events, such as forest fires, oil…
This thesis focuses on the detection of extrasolar planets via the transit method, and more specifically addresses issues relevant to the preparation of upcoming space missions such as CoRoT, Kepler, Eddington, aiming to detect terrestrial…
New development approaches, including launch vehicles and advances in sensors, computing, and software, have lowered the cost of entry into space, and have enabled a revolution in low-cost, high-risk Small Satellite (SmallSat) missions. To…
Can a satellite dodge a collision with untracked orbiting debris? Can a satellite dodge collision with a tracked object, making only the avoidance man{\oe}uvers actually required to avoid collision, despite the uncertainties of predicted…
The impact risk has been sharply curtailed for the largest km-sized Near Earth Objects (NEOs) through a concerted period of observation spanning the last decade. Thus the risk of impact has now migrated to the smaller and more numerous…
The increasing population of objects in geostationary orbit has raised concerns about the potential risks posed by debris clouds resulting from fragmentation. The short-term evolution and associated hazards of debris generated by collisions…
Several stars show deep transits consistent with discs of roughly 1 Solar radius seen at moderate inclinations, likely surrounding planets on eccentric orbits. We show that this configuration arises naturally as a result of planet-planet…
A concept for forced reentry of small orbital debris with characteristic dimension ~ 10 cm from the highly populated sun synchronous orbit by injecting micron scale dust grains to artificially enhance drag is discussed. The drag enhancement…
Space is becoming more crowded in Low Earth Orbit due to increased space activity. Such a dense space environment increases the risk of collisions between space objects endangering the whole space population. Therefore, the need to consider…
Operating electronic systems in space environments presents significant challenges due to continuous exposure to cosmic, solar, and trapped radiation, which can induce catastrophic single-event effects. This paper introduces a novel…
The escalating accumulation of orbital debris threatens the sustainability of space operations, necessitating active removal solutions that overcome the limitations of current fuel-dependent methods. To address this, this study introduces a…
Building on a preliminary paper design of a downlink from a swarm of low-mass interstellar probes for returning scientific data from the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the most critical technology issues are summarized, and their…
Using Hyper Suprime Camera data (a precursor of what is to come with Rubin Observatory) we assess trail masking mitigation strategies for satellite contamination. We examine HSC data of the Hubble COSMOS field where satellite trails have…
In recent years, computer simulators of rigid-body systems have been successfully used to improve and expand the field of developing new space robots, becoming a leading tool for the preliminary investigation and evaluation of space robotic…
Recent studies of optimization methods and GNC of spacecraft near small bodies focusing on descent, landing, rendezvous, etc., with key safety constraints such as line-of-sight conic zones and soft landings have shown promising results;…
The recent growth of the space sector, spurred by a surge in private actors, has led to a sharp increase in our ability to address societal challenges through space data. However, this has exacerbated an already critical situation in space:…
The nearby space surrounding the Earth is densely populated by artificial satellites and instruments, whose orbits are distributed within the Low-Earth-Orbit region (LEO), ranging between 90 and 2 000 $km$ of altitude. As a consequence of…
An analytical formulation for collision avoidance maneuvers involving a spacecraft and a space debris is presented, including solutions for the maximum deviation and minimum collision probability cases. Gauss' planetary equations and…
The Center for Astrophysics,Space Physics, and Engineering Research (CASPER) has completed construction and calibration of a Light Gas Gun (LGG), which is used for low velocity impact studies. At geosynchronous orbit, space debris can…
This study evaluates a technique for determining the mass of a potentially hazardous asteroid from a high-speed flyby in the context of a rapid reconnaissance planetary defense scenario. We consider a host spacecraft that dispenses a small…