Application of Analytical Second-Order Methods for Re-Entry Mission Design

Re-entry mission design remains an active field of study to safely return space missions back to Earth. With the developments in on-board computers, mission design and especially optimization of these missions has been performed numerically at an increasing rate at the cost of computing power. Analytical second-order methods have previously been...

Guidance Algorithm for an Air-to-Air Boost Phase Interceptor

Current Ballistic Missile (BM) defence systems intercept an incoming threat in its terminal phase, and to some extend during its coast phase. During the boost phase of a BM, the initial velocity of the BM is low and the hot exhaust plume is easy to spot for infrared sensors, which provides a good opportunity for interception. To do so, the...

Cubesat Deployment Trajectories for the Asteroid Impact Mission

Missions to Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are a growing trend in spaceflight. The interest for such bodies is not only justified by the threat that they represent for the Earth, but also because they are potential sources of extra-terrestrial materials, provide windows to the past of the Solar System and to planetary formation, and offer a good...