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The need for space test professionals is growing rapidly, due to establishment of the US Space Force and the extremely rapid growth of the commercial space industry. The future of space test looks bright and complex; a better training…
Despite years of research, understanding of the space radiation environment and the risk it poses to long-duration astronauts remains limited. There is a disparity between research results and observed empirical effects seen in human…
Robotic systems are complex and safety-critical software systems. As such, they need to be tested thoroughly. Unfortunately, robot software is intrinsically hard to test compared to traditional software, mainly since the software needs to…
Onboard autonomy technologies such as planning and scheduling, identification of scientific targets, and content-based data summarization, will lead to exciting new space science missions. However, the challenge of operating missions with…
The payload of communications satellites must go through a series of tests to assert their ability to survive in space. Each test involves some equipment of the payload to be active, which has an impact on the temperature of the payload.…
Laboratory experiments provide a valuable complement to explore the fundamental physics of space plasmas without the limitations inherent to spacecraft measurements. Specifically, experiments overcome the restriction that spacecraft…
Space poses significant challenges for humans, leading to physiological adaptations in response to an environment vastly different from Earth. A comprehensive understanding of these physiological adaptations is needed to devise effective…
The technology in the area of automated vehicles is gaining speed and promises many advantages. However, with the recent introduction of conditionally automated driving, we have also seen accidents. Test protocols for both, conditionally…
As "Space Mobility and Logistics" was listed as one of the five core competencies in the US Space Force's doctrine document, there is a growing interest in developing technologies to enable in-space refueling, servicing, assembly, and…
The trial and error approach of reinforcement learning (RL) results in high performance across many complex tasks, but it can also lead to unsafe behavior. Run time assurance (RTA) approaches can be used to assure safety of the agent during…
The interaction of a space system with its orbital environment is a major consideration in the design of any space system, since a variety of hazards are associated with the operation of spacecraft in the harsh space environment. In this…
The growing ambition for space exploration demands robust autonomous systems that can operate in unstructured environments under extreme extraterrestrial conditions. The adoption of robot learning in this domain is severely hindered by the…
Recent research using Reinforcement Learning (RL) to learn autonomous control for spacecraft operations has shown great success. However, a recent study showed their performance could be improved by changing the action space, i.e. control…
The Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) standard has been a great boon to astronomy, allowing observatories, scientists and the public to exchange astronomical information easily. The FITS standard, however, is showing its age. Developed…
As the space industry matures, large space stations will be built. This paper organizes and documents constraints on the size of these space stations. Human frailty, station design, and construction impose these constraints. Human…
Modern spacecraft are increasingly relying on machine learning (ML). However, physical equipment in space is subject to various natural hazards, such as radiation, which may inhibit the correct operation of computing devices. Despite plenty…
We introduce a novel simulation-based approach to identify hazards that result from unexpected worker behavior in human-robot collaboration. Simulation-based safety testing must take into account the fact that human behavior is variable and…
As reliance on space systems continues to increase, so does the need to ensure security for them. However, public work in space standards have struggled with defining security protocols that are well tailored to the domain and its risks. In…
One of the biggest perceived challenges in building megastructures, such as the space elevator, is the unavailability of materials with sufficient tensile strength. The presumed necessity of very strong materials stems from a design…
Robotics simulation plays an important role in the design, development, and verification and validation of robotic systems. Recent studies have shown that simulation may be used as a cheaper, safer, and more reliable alternative to manual,…