Perfecting autonomous control for self-driving spacecraft

Improving autonomous guidance can enhance the usefulness of small spacecraft like CubeSats. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the FAAST project will develop guidance and control algorithms for these and other types of interplanetary spacecraft. The primary focus will be on autonomous orbital guidance and control for scientific deep-space missions, particularly for controlling missions in the vicinity of asteroids. The project will also contribute to the DART group’s EXTREMA project, which is developing new guidance, navigation and control techniques for self-driving spacecraft. Research activity will range from fundamental developments in celestial mechanics and astrodynamics to specific algorithm development and demonstration in a high-fidelity setting. It will also encourage transatlantic cooperation between United States and EU spaceflight research communities.

Objective

The FAAST project (Facilitating Autonomy in Astrodynamics for Spacecraft Technology) is proposed for developing autonomous guidance and control algorithms for CubeSats and other interplanetary spacecraft. This project will be conducted with Prof. Francesco Topputo of the DART group at Politecnico di Milano (Polimi) in Italy, which has expertise in deep-space guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) from its past and present involvement with ESA projects, including multiple CubeSat missions. The primary focus of FAAST is on autonomous orbit guidance and control for deep-space scientific space missions - a challenging problem which currently must be handled by dedicated teams of engineers on Earth which support the spacecraft's operations. In particular, this work is concerned with autonomous guidance and control in the vicinity of asteroids, which presents a particularly challenging environment. The FAAST project will contribute to, benefit from, and interface with the DART group's EXTREMA project, a 5 year (2021-2026) €2M project funded by the European Research Council. EXTREMA is developing new GNC techniques for self-driving spacecraft.

FAAST proposes research activity that spans from fundamental developments in celestial mechanics and astrodynamics to specific algorithm development and demonstration in a high-fidelity setting. This presents an ambitious course of research for a two-year project, but it is well-organized into four achievable objectives. The researcher holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder, a leading institution in spaceflight education and research. The supervisor is a Full Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Polimi, and a leading expert in spacecraft GNC and interplanetary CubeSats. This project has the potential to meaningfully advance the state-of-the-art in spacecraft guidance and control while facilitating transatlantic cooperation between the US and EU spaceflight research communities.

More info: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101063274 ↗