Related papers: Threat Mitigation: The Gravity Tractor
In the framework of the special theory of relativity, the relativistic theory of gravitation (RTG) is constructed. The energy-momentum tensor density of all the matter fields (including gravitational one) is treated as a source of the…
It is well-known that the straight gravity tunnel between any two different positions on a non-rotating Earth, which has uniform density, is traversable, i.e., an object initially at rest will reach its destination through the gravity…
Numerous decameter-sized asteroids have been observed impacting Earth as fireballs. These objects can have impact energies equivalent to hundreds of kilotons of TNT, posing a hazard if they impact populated areas. Previous estimates of…
This paper discusses the design and the performance achievable with active aerodynamic attitude control in very low Earth orbit, i.e. below 450 km in altitude. A novel real-time algorithm is proposed for selecting the angles of deflection…
In order to improve our understanding of landing on small bodies and of asteroid evolution, we use our novel drop tower facility to perform low-velocity (2-40 cm s^-1), shallow impact experiments of a 10 cm diameter aluminum sphere into…
Orbit determination of spacecraft in orbit has been mostly dependent on either GNSS satellite signals or ground station telemetry. Both methods present their limitations, however: GNSS signals can only be used effectively in earth orbit,…
Using a fully autonomous spacecraft - Bering - we propose to detect and study sub-km asteroids from an orbit within the asteroid Main Belt. The main purpose of the proposed Bering mission is to detect a statistically significant sample of…
We present a new analytical framework for describing the dynamics of a gravitational binary system with unequal masses moving with arbitrary relative velocity, taking into account the backreaction from both compact objects in the form of…
Asteroids that could collide with the Earth are listed on the publicly available Near-Earth object (NEO) hazard web sites maintained by the US and European space agencies (NASA and ESA). The impact probability distribution of 69 potentially…
We calculate the angles of deflection of high speed particles projected in an arbitrary direction into the Kerr gravitational field. This is done by first calculating the light-like boost of the Kerr gravitational field in an arbitrary…
We study level set teleportation, an optimization routine which tries to accelerate gradient descent (GD) by maximizing the gradient norm over a level set of the objective. While teleportation intuitively speeds-up GD via bigger steps,…
A method for classifying orbits near asteroids under a polyhedral gravitational field is presented, and may serve as a valuable reference for spacecraft orbit design for asteroid exploration. The orbital dynamics near asteroids are very…
We optimize a six degrees of freedom hovering policy using reinforcement meta-learning. The policy maps flash LIDAR measurements directly to on/off spacecraft body-frame thrust commands, allowing hovering at a fixed position and attitude in…
Today there are numerous studies on asteroid mining. They elaborate on selecting the right objects, prospecting missions, potential asteroid redirection, and the mining process itself. For economic reasons, most studies focus on mining…
Light does not travel in a perfectly straight line when it passes near massive objects. In this work, we calculate the gravitational deflection of light using the gauge theory of unified gravity [Rep. Prog. Phys. 88, 057802 (2025)],…
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 trajectory of an interplanetary spacecraft can be used to test gravitation in the Solar System. Its determination relies on radio tracking and is limited by the uncertainty on the spacecraft non-gravitational acceleration. The addition…
The measurement of the size of gravitationally bounded structures is an important test of gravity theories. For a given radius different theories can in fact predict a different gravitational stability mass (GSM) necessary to ensure the…
The modified newtonian dynamics (MOND) paradigm of Milgrom can boast of a number of successful predictions regarding galactic dynamics; these are made without the assumption that dark matter plays a significant role. MOND requires…
Approaching a tumbling target safely is a critical challenge in space debris removal missions utilizing robotic manipulators onboard servicing satellites. In this work, we propose a trajectory planning method based on nonlinear optimization…