Astronautics Laboratory Projects
The Astronautics Laboratory conducts research in the area of astrodynamics, spacecraft control, and space mission design.
Faculty
Dr. Atri Dutta is an associate professor of aerospace engineering working in the field of flight dynamics and control, with a focus on space applications. His research has focused on astrodynamics, optimal control, mission design and optimization. He also leads WSU's convergennt science team working on disaster analytics and community resilience.
Doctoral Students
Kyle Messick (M.S. 2021) is a Ph.D. student working on the design of the NuSol CubeSat mission for validating the performance of a neutrino detector prototype in low-Earth orbit. Additionally, he also investigates the design of spacecraft trajectories in cislunar space. He completed his M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from WSU, and his B.S. from University of Missouri.
Amrutha Dasyam (B.S. 2021) is a Ph.D. student investigating the impact of machine learning in the design of aerobraking trajectories. She completed her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from WSU, and received the Outstanding Graduating Senior award from the Department.
Adrian Arustei is a Ph.D. student engaged in developing algorithms for optimizing low-thrust trajectories of spacecraft in cislunar space. He joined the laboratory in Fall 2021.
MS Students
Joel Pegg . Thesis Option
Research: Deep learning neural network, Multi-revolution solution to Lambert's problem
Laura Elliott Directed Project Option
Project Title: Optimal Cislunar Cycler Trajectory Design in Elliptical Restricted Three-Body Problem
Matthew Chace Thesis Optiion
Research: Cislunar trajectories.
Undergraduate Students
Alexis Silva . NASA JumpStart Student
Research: Spacecraft trajectory optimization
Ella Kreger . CoE Summer Research Assistants
Research: Rigid body attitude dynamics
Doctoral Students
Dr. Pardhasai Chadalavada was a Ph.D. student in the laboratory during 2018 - 2022. He was a NASA Future Investigator on a three-year grant, funded by NASA FINESST Program to investigate CubeSat constellation designs for monitoring of hurricanes from space. He obtained a MS from San Jose State University in 2017, and a Bachelors from SRM in 2014, all his degrees being in Aerospace Engineering. Apart from the hurricane monitoring related research, he has also contributed to the research being pursued in the laboratory related to optimization of low-thrust trajectory electric orbit-raising trajectories. After graduation, he joined Analytical Mechanical Associates (Hampton, VA) as a Flight Mechanics Engineer. His dissertation was entitled
Dr. Pardhasai Chadalavada was a Ph.D. student in the laboratory during 2018 - 2022. He was a NASA Future Investigator on a three-year grant, funded by NASA FINESST Program to investigate CubeSat constellation
designs for monitoring of hurricanes from space. He obtained a MS from San Jose State
University in 2017, and a Bachelors from SRM in 2014, all his degrees being in Aerospace
Engineering. Apart from the hurricane monitoring related research, he has also contributed
to the research being pursued in the laboratory related to optimization of low-thrust
trajectory electric orbit-raising trajectories. After graduation, he joined Analytical
Mechanical Associates (Hampton, VA) as a Flight Mechanics Engineer. His dissertation
was entitled Dr. Suwat Sreesawet, M.S. 2014, Ph.D. 2018, was a graduate student working in the laboratory during 2014 - 2018. He was the winner of John V. Breakwell Graduate Student Travel Award from the American Astronautical Society in 2017, as well as Dora Wallace Hodgson Outstanding Graduate Student Award from WSU Graduate School. After graduation, he joined Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Thailand. His dissertation was entitled "Optimal orbit-raising and attitude control of all-electric satellites" and is available at the following link: https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/15912
Masters Thesis Students
Kyle Messick , M.S. 2021, continued for Ph.D. at WSU.
Thesis: Preliminary mission design for proposed NuSol probe https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/21597
Tanzimul Farabi , M.S. 2021
Thesis: Neural network based prediction of solar array degradation during all-electric satellite deployment https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/17586
Mr. Garba Subedi, M.S. 2020, joined Caterpillar as a Systems Engineer
Thesis: Neuroadaptive observer design for spacecraft attitude control and formation attitude synchronization https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/19769
Mr. Nikolas Bascue, M.S. 2020
Thesis: Impact of launch injection errors on orbit-raising of all-electric satellites https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/18981
Mr. Lakshay Arora, M.S. 2020, admitted to doctoral program at Carleton University (Canada)
Thesis: Reinforcement learning framework for spacecraft low-thrust orbit raising https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/18826
Ms. Prathyusha Karampudi, M.S. 2019
Thesis: Laser ablation based on-orbit debris removal https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/16551
Mr. Suwat Sreesawet, M.S. 2014, continued for PhD at WSU
Thesis: A new algorithm to generate low-thrust spacecraft trajectories https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/11351
Masters Directed Project Students
Mr. Matthew Kornfeld, M.S. 2019.
Mr. Zac Matson, MS. 2018, working in the local aircraft industry in Wichita.
Mr. Biraj Gupta, M.S. 2017, working in the local aircraft industry in Wichita.
Mr. Ajay Abraham, M.S. 2017, working in the local aircraft industry in Wichita.
Mr. Tyler Olson, M.S. 2016, joined Harris Corporation after graduation.
Undergraduate Students
Dillon Whitmarsh, 2019 - 2021, NASA JumpStart Student
Mr. Bryan Cline, 2019 - 2020, joined UIUC for graduate studies.
Ms. Shireen Fikree, 2018 - 2020, joined General Atomics.
Ms. Brina Wallace, 2018 - 2019.
Mr. Chimuka Cheepa, 2018 - 2019, joined Georgia Tech for graduate degree.
Ms. Samadini Weerasakera, 2017 - 2019.
Mr. Gaberial Booker, 2018.
Mr. Eric LaRue, 2017.
Mr. Hooloomann Hommes Ramdial, 2017.
Mr. Skylar Dean, 2017 - 2019.
Mr. Nathan Lipsinki, 2016 - 2017.
Mr. Levi Mann, 2016 - 2017.
Ms. Mary Buchele, 2015 - 2016.
Mr. Ehiremen Nathaniel (Nate) Omoarebun, 2015 - 2016, joined Georgia Tech for graduate degree.
Ms. Christina Wilson, 2014 - 2015, joined Georgia Tech for graduate degree.
Mr. Nathan Templon, 2014 (won Second prize at WSU URCAF)
Others
Mr. Akshay Tummala, 2016 - 2018, joined PhD in WSU Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.
Mr. Suvessa Chakravarthy, 2014 - 2015, working in local Wichita industry.
Mr. Alex Foster, 2014 - 2015, won second prize joined the local aircraft industry.
Mr. Sainath Vijayan, 2014 - 2016, joined Bastion Technologies.
Grant award from Future Investigator Investigator in NASA Earth & Space Science and Technology program, won by Mr. Pardhasai Chadalavada, 2019.
John V. Breakwell Student Travel award from the American Astronautical Society, won by Suwat Sreesawet for his paper at AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Conference, 2017.
Dora Wallace Hodgson Outstanding Graduate Student Award from WSU Graduate School, won by Suwat Sreesawet, 2017.
Award for best poster presenters at Kansas Capitol Graduate Research Symposium won by Alex Foster, 2015.
First-place award (AIAA and AE) at WSU Engineering Open House awards, won jointly by Hooloomann Hommes Ramdial and Eric LaRue, 2016.
WSU Honors College Undergraduate Student Research Grant won by Chimuka Cheepa (2018), Brina Wallace (2017), Samadini Weerasekara Arachchilage (2017), Ehiremen Nathaniel Omoarebun (2015).
Second place award at WSU Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Forum, won by Nathan Templon, 2014.
2022
12/2022: Pardhasai Chadalavada successfully defends his dissertation on the design of CubeSat constellations for monitoring hurricanes. Congrats Dr. Chadalavada!
10/2022: Our proposal (PI: Prof. Rajiv Bagai, WSU School of Computing) on organizing a disaster literacy workshop for middle-school teachers in Kansas was accepted for funding by NASA Kansas Space Grant Consortium.
2021
04/2021: NASA selected our proposal (PI: Prof. Nick Solomey, Physics) to develop a CubeSat for validating the performance of a neutrino detector in space. The CubeSat development will be funded by a Phase-III grant award from NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. The WSU Astronautics Laboratory will support the work on mission design and satellite navigation.
2020
07/2020: Our NASA EPSCOR CAN proposal has been selected for funding. The project focuses on the development of a machine learning assisted framework for optimizing spacecraft trajectories.
2019
10/19: Profs. Schwartz (Philosophy), Solomey (Physics) and Dutta organized a 1-day NASA Celebrate symposium to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo landing and 60 years of NASA. The symposium was funded by a grant award from NASA Kansas Space Grant Consortium. The symposium had around 125 attendees.
07/19: Mr. Pardhasai Chadalavada is a NASA Future Investigator! His proposal entitled "Continuous Monitoring of Hurricanes Using RaIn CubeSats" has been selected by NASA FINESST Program Earth Science Division. NASA FINESST program funded only 120 of the submitted 966 proposals across all divisions. The project duration is 3 years. Congratulations Pardhasai!
2018
11/2018: Suwat Sreesawet completes his Ph.D. by defending his dissertation on the optimal orbit-raising and attitude control of all-electric satellites. He is the first student of the lab to complete the doctoral program. Congrats Dr. Sreesawet!
2017
05/2017: Mr. Sreesawet received Dora Wallace Hodgson Outstanding Graduate Student Award from WSU Graduate School for his research and academic excellence. Congratulations Suwat!
02/2017: Mr. Sreesawet received John V. Breakwell Graduate Student Travel Award from the American Astronautical Society for his paper "A Novel Methodology for Fast and Robust Computation of Low-Thrust Orbit-Raising Trajectories," presented at the AIAA/AAS Space Flight Mechanics Meeting in San Antonio, TX in February 2017. Congratulations Suwat!
Journal Publications
P. Chadalavada, T. Farabi, A. Dutta, "Sequential Low-Thrust Orbit-Raising of All-Electric Satellites," MDPI Aerospace, Special Issue on Electric Propulsion, Vol 7(6), No 74, pp. 1-27. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace7060074
S. Sreesawet, A. Dutta, “Fast and Robust Computation of Low-Thrust Orbit-Raising Trajectories,” AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, Vol 41, No 9, pp. 1888-1905. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.G003319
A. Tummala, A. Dutta, “An Overview of Cube-Satellite Propulsion Technologies and Trends,” MDPI Aerospace 2017, 4(4), 58, pp. 1–30. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace4040058
Conference Proceedings
G. Subedi, A. Dutta, “Modified State Observer for Attitude Synchronization of Formation Flying Spacecraft,” AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Virtual, Feb 2021 (AAS 21-371).
K. Messick, A. Dutta, H. Meyer, N. Solomey, “Preliminary Mission Design for Proposed NuSol Probe,” AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Virtual, Feb 2021 (AAS 21-377).
T. Farabi, A. Dutta, “Artificial Neural Network Based Prediction of Solar Array Degradation during Electric Orbit-Raising,” AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Virtual, Feb 2021 (AAS 21-424).
P. Chadalavada, A. Dutta, “Minimizing Ground Track Closure Error of Repeating Ground Track Orbits to Monitor Hurricanes using CubeSats,” AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Virtual, Aug 2021 (AAS 20-691).
A. Dutta, J. Raquepas, "Stochastic Optimization Framework for Spacecraft Maneuver Detection," AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, AIAA Scitech Forum, Orlando FL, Jan 2020. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2020-0234
N. Bascue, A. Dutta, P. Ghosh, "Impact of Launch Injection Errors on Orbit-Raising of All-Electric Satellites," AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, AIAA Scitech Forum, Orlando FL, Jan 2020. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2020-0959
L. Arora, A. Dutta, "Reinforcement Learning for Sequential Low-Thrust Orbit Raising Problem," AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, AIAA Scitech Forum, Orlando FL, Jan 2020. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2020-0959
NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD): FINNEST program
NASA EPSCOR CAN program
NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) NIAC program
Kansas NASA EPSCOR Program: Partnership Development Grant, Seed Research Initiative
AFRL, Information Institute: Visiting Faculty Research Program (VFRP), Extension grant to VFRP
WSU: College of Engineering Undergraduate Research Program, Honors College Undergraduate Research Grant
P. Chadalavada and A. Dutta, "CubeSat Constellation Design to Monitor Hurricanes over Southeastern Coastal Areas of the United States," AMS Annual Meeting, Jan 2021 (Virtual).
A. Dutta, "Optimization framework for spacecraft maneuver detection," Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome NY, Jul 2019 (Poster).
A. Dutta, "Spacecraft maneuver planning and detection," Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome NY, Jul 2018 (Poster).
A. Dutta, "Optimal planning and detection of spacecraft maneuvers," Armed Forces Communications
and Electronics Association (AFCEA) Erie Canal Chapter C4I and
Cyber Technology Symposium, Utica NY, Jun 2018 (Poster).
A. Dutta, "Algorithms for Optimal Scheduling of Multiple Spacecraft Maneuvers," International Conference and Exposition on Satellite, Aug 2015.
S. Chakraborty, "'Investigating Rover Operations as Part of an Experimental Demonstration of Rover-CubeSat Collaboration," WSU Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects, Apr 2015.
A. Foster, S. Sreesawet, S. Vijayan, A. Dutta, "Methods for Optimizing Trajectories of All-Electric Satellites for Multiple Variables and Launch Conditions," presented by Alexander Foster at Kansas Capitol Graduate Research Symposium, Topeka KS, Feb 2015.
Sainath Vijayan, "Low Thrust Orbit Transfer Trajectory Optimization," WSU Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects, Apr 2015.