Related papers: A Gravitational Tractor for Towing Asteroids
We aim at providing a preliminary approach on the dynamics of a spacecraft in orbit about the asteroid (99942) Apophis during its Earth close approach. The physical properties from the polyhedral shape of the target are derived assigning…
We consider a nearly free falling Earth satellite where atomic wave interferometers are tied to a telescope pointing towards a faraway star. They measure the acceleration and the rotation relatively to the local inertial frame. We calculate…
Although wheeled robots have been predominant for planetary exploration, their geometry limits their capabilities when traveling over steep slopes, through rocky terrains, and in microgravity. Legged robots equipped with grippers are a…
Photometric observations of asteroids show that some of them are in non-principal axis rotation state (free precession), called tumbling. Collisions between asteroids have been proposed as a possible asteroid rotation excitation mechanism.…
The rotation of the casing and rotor of a gyroscope is studied by considering frictional effects. Friction causes the casing to rotate, and over time, air dissipation and friction at the touchpoint gradually stop this rotation. Several…
In this work, the orbital evolution of these objects that are located in the geostationary orbit (GEO) is analyzed. Knowing this, the possibility of using a solar sail is considered to help to clean the space environment. The main natural…
A simple general relativity theory for objects moving in gravitational fields is developed based on studying the behavior of an atom in a gravitational field. The theory is applied to calculate the satellite time dilation, light deflection…
In this paper a geometric approach to the trajectory tracking control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with thrust vectoring capabilities is proposed. The control design is suitable for aerial systems that allow to effectively decouple position…
We propose two algorithms to provide a full preliminary orbit of an Earth-orbiting object with a number of observations lower than the classical methods, such as those by Laplace and Gauss. The first one is the Virtual debris algorithm,…
Hazardous asteroid has been one of the concerns for humankind as fallen asteroid on earth could cost a huge impact on the society.Monitoring these objects could help predict future impact events, but such efforts are hindered by the large…
We present a simple model illustrating how a highly relativistic, compact object which is stable in isolation can be driven dynamically unstable by the tidal field of a binary companion. Our compact object consists of a test-particle in a…
The interaction of robots with bendable objects in midair presents significant challenges in control, often resulting in performance degradation and potential crashes, especially for aerial robots due to their limited actuation capabilities…
Attitude control of spacecraft during an impulsive orbital maneuver is a vital task. Many spacecraft and launchers use the gimbaled thrust vector control (TVC) in their attitude control system during an orbital maneuver. Mathematical…
We propose a method for dual-arm manipulation of rigid objects, subject to external disturbance. The problem is formulated as a Cartesian impedance controller within a projected inverse dynamics framework. We use the constrained component…
This paper presents a trajectory optimization and control approach for the guidance of an orbital four-arm robot in extravehicular activities. The robot operates near the target spacecraft, enabling its arm's end-effectors to reach the…
The gravitational-radiation-induced inspiral of a binary system of compact objects is considered. A scheme is described to model the regime in which the gravitational interaction is too strong to use weak-field approximation methods, but…
The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) proposes to retrieve a near-Earth asteroid and position it in a lunar distant retrograde orbit (DRO) for later study, crewed exploration, and ultimately resource exploitation. During the Caltech Space…
In the context of the currently ongoing efforts to improve the accuracy and reliability of the measurement of the Lense-Thirring effect in the gravitational field of the Earth it has recently been proposed to use the data from the existing…
Recent successes in the deployment of sails in space have reduced the risk associated with solar sailing missions. The attitude control requirements for a solar sailing mission is low with only slow attitude maneuvers needed to maintain a…
The gravity-driven flow along an annular topological defect (string) with transversely corrugations is investigated by using the verified transition-rate model and boundary perturbation method. We found that for certain activation volume…