Related papers: Formation Flying Techniques for the Virtual Telesc…
The Virtual Telescope for X-ray Observations (VTXO) will use lightweight Phase Frensel Lenses (PFLs) in a virtual X-ray telescope with 1 km focal length and with nearly 50 milli-arcsecond angular resolution. Laboratory characterization of…
The Virtual Telescope for X-ray Observations (VTXO) will use lightweight Phase Fresnel Lenses (PFLs) in a virtual X-ray telescope with $\sim$1 km focal length and with $\sim$50 milli-arcsecond angular resolution. VTXO is formed by using…
The Virtual Telescope for X-Ray Observations (VTXO) is a conceptual mission under development to demonstrate a new instrument for astronomical observations in the X-ray band using a set of 6U CubeSats. VTXO will use a Phase Fresnel Lens,…
Selected by NASA for an Astrophysics Science SmallSat study, The Virtual Telescope for X-Ray Observations (VTXO) is a small satellite mission being developed by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and New Mexico State University…
The employment of a large area Phase Fresnel Lens (PFL) in a gamma-ray telescope offers the potential to image astrophysical phenomena with micro-arcsecond angular resolution. In order to assess the feasibility of this concept, two detailed…
We use artificial intelligence (AI) and supervisory adaptive control systems to plan and optimize the mission of precise spacecraft formation. Machine learning and robust control enhance the efficiency of spacecraft precision formation of…
The capability of maintaining two satellites in precise relative position, stable in a celestial coordinate system, would enable major advances in a number of scientific disciplines and with a variety of types of instrumentation. The common…
The Microchannel X-ray Telescope (MXT) is a compact and lightweight focusing X-ray telescope, which is part of the space payload of the SVOM mission. The main goal of the MXT instrument is to precisely localize and physically characterize…
Spacecraft formation flying serves as a method of astronomical instrumentation that enables the construction of large virtual structures in space. The formation-flying interferometry generally requires very-high control accuracy, and…
Space interferometry is the inevitable endpoint of high angular resolution astrophysics, and a key technology that can be leveraged to analyse exoplanet formation and atmospheres with exceptional detail. However, the anticipated cost of…
This paper presents a strategy for optimal manoeuvre design of multi-satellite formation flying in low Earth orbit environment, with the aim of providing a tool for mission operation design. The proposed methodology for formation flying…
Very low Earth orbits (VLEO), typically classified as orbits below approximately 450 km in altitude, have the potential to provide significant benefits to spacecraft over those that operate in higher altitude orbits. This paper provides a…
The XO project aims at detecting transiting exoplanets around bright stars from the ground using small telescopes. The original configuration of XO (McCullough et al. 2005) has been changed and extended as described here. The instrumental…
Formation-flying studies to date have required continuous and minute corrections of the orbital elements and attitudes of the spacecraft.This increases the complexity, and associated risk, of controlling the formation, which often makes…
In the past few years, there has been a resurgence in studies towards space-based optical/infrared interferometry, particularly with the vision to use the technique to discover and characterise temperate Earth-like exoplanets around solar…
A key challenge for starshades is formation flying. To successfully image exoplanets, the telescope boresight and starshade must be aligned to ~1 m at separations of tens of thousands of kilometers. This challenge has two parts: first, the…
The Wide Field X-Ray Telescope (WFXT) is a medium-class mission designed to be 2-orders-of-magnitude more sensitive than any previous or planned X-ray mission for large area surveys and to match in sensitivity the next generation of…
On-board the SVOM mission, the Microchannel X-ray Telescope observes the soft X-ray band of the gamma-ray bursts afterglows. The so-called lobster-eye optics focuses X-rays to the camera subsystem that performs imaging and spectroscopy of a…
Relative attitude formation control systems are developed for multiple spacecraft, based on the line-of-sight measurements between spacecraft in formation. The proposed control systems are unique in the sense that they do not require…
Purpose: In conventional fluoroscopy-guided interventions, the 2D projective nature of X-ray imaging limits depth perception and leads to prolonged radiation exposure. Virtual fluoroscopy, combined with spatially tracked surgical…