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Research Topic:

I am currently working on analytical modeling of the GEO region, to give insights in the dynamical evolution of objects in this region over long time scales with applications for space Fabien at the Miraikan (National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation) in Tokyo, Japandebris, and more specifically for the debris with high area to mass ratios.

To this end, I use the Hamiltonian formalism to study the problem and use tools from dynamical systems theory, with a focus on the method of Lie Series to obtain normal forms.

In my model, I take in account the Geopotential of the Earth to a certain degree, the Sun and Moon perturbations at some order in the inclination, eccentricity and ratio of the distance of the satellite to the Earth and the distance to those celestial bodies, and the Solar Radiation Pressure. I take in account areas over mass ratios from 0.01m^2/kg (regular satellites) to 25m^2/kg or more for the high A/m debris.

My first goal is to find analytically some equilibrium solutions of this model, to see in which region of the phase space the debris will end up after long periods of time (100-200 years or more) given some given initial conditions close to GEO. Then I will also map the chaos in the region, which arises due to the Sun, Moon and Solar Radiation Pressure. The results of this analysis can be used to define strategies to mitigate collision risks and comply with the law for satellites at end-of-life.

Another area of research I am currently involved in is the study of the MEO region, occupied mainly by Navigation satellites, such as the GPS, GLONASS, Beidou or more recently the European GALILEO. In collaboration with Jérôme Daquin of IMCCE and two other STARDUST members, Aaron Rosengren, and Ioannis Gkolias, we are analyzing the long-term stability of these orbits, once again in the scope of the disposal of the satellites, and the problem of space debris.

I am also interested in Near Earth Objects and Trajectory Optimization. Together with Marilena Di Carlo, and Juan Manuel Romero Martin from the University of Strathclyde, and three other STARDUST members, Natalia Ortiz, Chiara Tardioli, Kartik Kumar and the Coordinator of the network Prof. Massimiliano Vasile, we proposed an initial concept of mission towards the Atira asteroids. This mission would increase our knowledge about those bodies that are inside the Earth orbit and more difficult to observe, by using a space telescope.

Main Results:

The main results concerning my PhD topic will be published soon and therefore can't unfortunately be released here yet.

As for the common project I am working on concerning the stability of orbits in the MEO region, we will present at the upcoming KePassa workshop the development of new vector model including gravitational perturbations valid for MEO orbits. We produced dynamical maps to understand and characterize the stability and lifetime of these orbits.

Concerning the mission to the Atira asteroids that we proposed, we performed a trajectory optimization using low-thrust propulsion to visit several of these asteroids, and show that it is possible to visit up to 6 Atira asteroids in 8.5 years for about 6.6 km/s ΔV. [1]



FLI stability map taking in account J2+Sun+Moon at order 2 for the MEO region at a=19,000 km

References:

[1] Di Carlo, M., Ortiz Gómez, N., Romero Martin, J. M., Tardioli, C., Gachet, F., Kumar, K., & Vasile, M. (2015, January). Optimized low-thrust mission to the Atira asteroids. In 25th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting (pp. AAS15-299). http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/51194/

Resources:

http://www.mat.uniroma2.it/~gachet/


 
 
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