Related papers: Fuel-Optimal Rendezvous in a Central Force Field w…
All known interstellar transportation methods encounter monumental technological or engineering roadblocks, or even rely on speculative unknown science. In particular light of the recent public excitement and ensuing disappointment…
This article presents a unified synchronization framework with application to precision formation flying spacecraft. Central to the proposed innovation, in applying synchronization to both translational and rotational dynamics in the…
This work studies the joint problem of power and trajectory optimization in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-enabled mobile relaying system. In the considered system, in order to provide convenient and sustainable energy supply to the UAV…
In this paper we present a new approach to solve the fuel-efficient powered descent guidance problem on large planetary bodies with no atmosphere (e.g. the Moon or Mars) using the recently developed Theory of Functional Connections. The…
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…
A global model is presented that can be used to study attitude maneuvers of a rigid spacecraft in a circular orbit about a large central body. The model includes gravity gradient effects that arise from the non-uniform gravity field and…
This article solves an optimal control problem arising in attitude control of a spacecraft under state and control constraints. We first derive the discrete-time attitude dynamics by employing discrete mechanics. The orientation transfer,…
In this paper, we explore from a conceptual standpoint the possibility of using natural astrophysical sources to accelerate spacecrafts to relativistic speeds. We focus on light sails and electric sails, which are reliant on momentum…
We study an optimal transport problem where, at some intermediate time, the mass is accelerated by either an external force field, or self-interacting. We obtain regularity of the velocity potential, intermediate density, and optimal…
This article presents a feedback control algorithm for electromagnetic formation flying with constraints on the satellites' states and control inputs. The algorithm combines several key techniques. First, we use alternating magnetic field…
I develop an Effective Field Theory (EFT) framework to compute jet substructure observables for heavy ion collision experiments. As an illustration, I consider dijet events that accompany the formation of a weakly coupled Quark Gluon…
We examine two configurations for parallel hybrid electric aircraft, one with, and one without, a mechanical connection between the engines and the electric motors. For this two designs, we then review the power allocation problem in the…
As part of the dynamical analysis carried out within the Horizon 2020 ReDSHIFT project, this work analyzes the possible strategies to guide low altitude satellites towards an atmospheric reentry through an impulsive maneuver. We consider a…
The optimization of low-thrust, multi-revolution orbit transfer trajectories is often regarded as a difficult problem in modern astrodynamics. In this paper, a flexible and computationally efficient approach is presented for the…
The kinetic effects of magnetic fields on the transport of relativistic jet in the intergalactic medium remain uncertain, especially for their perpendicular component. By particle-in-cell simulations, we find that when only jet electrons…
Rapid and luminous flares of non-thermal radiation observed in blazars require an efficient mechanism of energy dissipation and particle acceleration in relativistic active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets. Particle acceleration in relativistic…
The relationship between magnetic reconnection and plasma turbulence is investigated using multipoint in-situ measurements from the Cluster spacecraft within a high-speed reconnection jet in the terrestrial magnetotail. We show explicitly…
We present an optimization-based approach for fuel-efficient spacecraft rendezvous to the Gateway, a space station that will be deployed on a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon. The approach: i) ensures passive safety and…
This dissertation explores the dynamics of relativistic spaceflight, focusing on the risks associated with collisions and photon interactions as a spacecraft approaches velocities near the speed of light. The study emphasizes two primary…
This paper solves the rendezvous problem for a network of underactuated rigid bodies such as quadrotor helicopters. A control strategy is presented that makes the centres of mass of the vehicles converge to an arbitrarily small neighborhood…