FACILITATING AUTONOMY IN ASTRODYNAMICS FOR SPACECRAFT TECHNOLOGY (FAAST) – AN MSCA PROJECT

he seminar will be available at the following link: https://politecnicomilano.webex.com/meet/carmine.giordano

The project FAAST explores the topic of computational guidance in spaceflight, whereby computational efficiency and stability join optimality as the driving priorities of algorithms intended for onboard applications. The work in this presentation pairs the application of differential algebra (DA) and convex optimization. The nonlinear information needed to update a guidance trajectory in the vicinity of a reference is computed in advance and stored in a compact way. Then, optimal guidance problems describable by the pre-computed map are computed using a novel sequential convex programming scheme, and this is demonstrated in path-constrained spacecraft rendezvous examples. Other topics include the application of similar ideas in astrodynamics problems, as well as strategies for mitigating “curse of dimensionality” effects encountered when attempting to apply DA in high-dimensional optimization problems.

Speaker

Ethan R. Burnett received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2021. His dissertation work focused on spacecraft rendezvous and formation flying, supervised by Prof. Hanspeter Schaub, and funded by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research via the NDSEG Fellowship. He was also Planetary Science Affiliate at the CU Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). After the Ph.D, Ethan worked in Blue Origin’s Advanced Development Programs (later Space Systems Develppment & Lunar Transportation) on optimal rendezvous guidance for the next generation of space vehicles until 2023. Since 2023, he has worked at the Politecnico di Milano, hosted by the Deep-space Astrodynamics Research and Technology (DART) Group and funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship. Ethan’s research interests are in nonlinear dynamics and optimization, and their applications in spaceflight (including satellite servicing and sustained in-space architectures) and space science missions.

24.9.2025