Related papers: Analytical model for collision probability assessm…
The space environment around the Earth is populated by more than 130 million objects of 1 mm in size and larger, and future predictions shows that this amount is destined to increase, even if mitigation measures are implemented at a far…
Thousands of satellites, asteroids, and rocket bodies break, collide, or degrade, resulting in large amounts of space debris in low Earth orbit. The presence of space debris poses a serious threat to satellite mega-constellations and to…
Spacecraft collision avoidance procedures have become an essential part of satellite operations. Complex and constantly updated estimates of the collision risk between orbiting objects inform the various operators who can then plan risk…
Launch behaviors are a key determinant of the orbital environment. Physical and economic forces such as fragmentations and changing launch costs, or policies like post-mission disposal (PMD) compliance requirements, will alter the relative…
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…
A deep-space exploration mission with low-thrust propulsion to rendezvous with multiple asteroids is investigated. Indirect methods, based on the optimal control theory, are implemented to optimize the fuel consumption. The application of…
Satellite constellation missions, consisting of a large number of spacecraft, are increasingly being launched or planned. Such missions require novel control approaches, in particular for what concerns orbital phasing maneuvers. In this…
Characterizing the risk of operations is a fundamental requirement in robotics, and a crucial ingredient of safe planning. The problem is multifaceted, with multiple definitions arising in the vast recent literature fitting different…
In nominal mission scenarios, geostationary satellites perform end-of-life orbit maneuvers to reach suitable disposal orbits, where they do not interfere with operational satellites. This research investigates the long-term orbit evolution…
Future launches are projected to significantly increase both the number of active satellites and aggregate collision risk in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). In this paper, a dynamical systems theory approach is used to analyze the effect of launch…
The use of regional coverage satellite constellations is on the rise, urging the need for an optimal constellation design method for complex regional coverage. Traditional constellations are often designed for continuous global coverage,…
High-multiplicity Kepler systems (referred to as Kepler multis) are often tightly packed and may be on the verge of instability. Many systems of this type could have experienced past instabilities, where the compact orbits and often low…
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…
As low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems are gaining increasing popularity, new theoretical methodologies are required to investigate such networks' performance at large. This is because deterministic and location-based…
This paper describes continuous-space methodologies to estimate the collision probability, Euclidean distance and gradient between an ellipsoidal robot model and an environment surface modeled as a set of Gaussian distributions.…
This study is aimed at investigating the dynamic evolution of the orbits of stellar globular clusters (GCs). To integrate the orbits backward in time, the authors use models of the time-varying potentials derived from cosmological…
Earth Observation (EO) has traditionally involved the transmission of a large volume of raw data to map the Earth surface. This results in congestion to the satellite network and delays in the availability of the results, invalidating the…
In order for automated mobile vehicles to navigate in the real world with minimal collision risks, it is necessary for their planning algorithms to consider uncertainties from measurements and environmental disturbances. In this paper, we…
With the rapid expansion of low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations, thousands of satellites are now in operation, many equipped with onboard GNSS receivers capable of continuous orbit determination and time synchronization. This development…
LEO satellite constellation coverage has served as the base platform for various space applications. However, the rapidly evolving security environment such as orbit debris and adversarial space threats are greatly endangering the security…