Seminars

In this seminar I will summarize some of the most interesting and successful endeavors of my group in the field of SSA and discuss possible avenues of collaboration. Research highlights include the development of advanced orbit modeling and propagation techniques, optimal collision avoidance, near-linear orbit uncertainty propagation methods and new concepts for contactless asteroid deflection and space debris removal. A main goal of the seminar will be to underline the benefit of developing unconventional mathematical models to describe orbital motion when dealing with present and upcoming SSA challenges. Main examples are the use of classical and generalized Sundman transformations with potential embedding as well as state transition matrices employing time as a dependent variable. These apparently more complex modeling frameworks can in the end provide key advantages (e.g. improved linearity and uncertainty realism) that justify the effort.

Bio: Dr. Claudio Bombardelli received a PhD in Space Science and Technology at the University of Padua, Italy in 2005, spent 5 years as a research fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and 2 years at the European Space Agency to then join the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) where is now Associate Professor. His main interests and contributions include fundamental aspects of orbital mechanics, mission analysis and space situational awareness. He is visiting UT for a research collaboration until July 2024.