Selected Projects

Current Project

RIDDANCE: Removal of Irregular Debris using Double Assisted Nets with Controlled Enhancement

NASA / Orbotic Systems Inc.

Net-based capture of irregular debris requires an understanding of net deployment and interaction with the target. We develop capture-net prototypes and formulate the system dynamics. Planned experiments will assess capture performance and guide modifications to the net design.

Completed Project

Experimental Testbed for Development and Validation of Autonomous ISAM / OSAM Systems

Air Force / SpaceWERX / ControlX, Inc.

We designed and assembled a ground-vehicle testbed for developing and evaluating autonomous OSAM control methods, with planar motion on a low-friction epoxy floor and a robotic-arm attachment. To extend the testbed’s experimental capabilities within the constraints of ground testing under Earth’s gravity, we added a second platform that provides adjustable attitude.

Completed Project

Extended Research: Flexible Body Control Using Fiber Optic Sensors

Florida Space Grant Consortium

Uncertain structural parameters and neglected vibration modes can limit the performance of controllers designed for rigid-flexible vehicles, particularly when rigid and elastic motions are treated separately. We investigated their coupled dynamics and developed observer-based adaptive sliding-mode control for stabilization and trajectory tracking without requiring prior knowledge of uncertainty bounds. The formulation accommodates unmeasured states and different numbers of control inputs and measured outputs.

Publications

• Fagetti et al. (2025) · coupled dynamics and adaptive control of rigid-flexible vehiclesDOI: 10.1016/j.jfranklin.2025.107774

Completed Project

Development of an SE(3)-based Rigid Body Pose Estimation Scheme for Unknown Moments of Inertia

(Phases I, II, and III) NASA / A.I. Solutions, Inc.

Spacecraft mass, center of mass, and moments of inertia may be uncertain or vary during crewed and uncrewed operations as propellant is consumed or onboard mass is redistributed. Navigation and control systems must autonomously account for these uncertainties and changes in mass properties. To avoid singularities associated with minimal attitude parameterization sets and the nonuniqueness of quaternion representations, we developed geometric state and mass-property estimation on TSE(3), where rotation matrices are used to represent attitude. Thruster excitation supports identification of mass properties while accounting for coupled orbit-attitude motion and measurement noise. The associated studies examined dual and joint unscented filtering, square-root implementations, windowing for large initial uncertainties, and estimation with liquid-propellant slosh.

Publications and outreach

• Gunter et al. (2026) · square-root UKF state and mass-property estimationDOI: 10.1007/s40295-026-00634-7
• Mangiacapra et al. (2022) · geometric UKF and controlDOI: 10.1007/s11071-022-07293-x
• McCann et al. (2024) · ψ mapping and mass-property estimationDOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.07.011
• Fagetti et al. (2026) · joint and dual state and mass estimation with propellant sloshDOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.03.054
• Wittal et al. (2025) · launch-vehicle ambiguity and control with parameter uncertaintiesDOI: 10.2514/1.A36275
• Nazari et al. (2023) · inertia-property estimation with slosh dynamicsSIAM News

Completed Project

Reconfigurable Guidance and Control Systems for Emerging On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) Space Vehicles

Air Force / ControlX, Inc.

Capturing a noncooperative space object requires coordinated motion of the spacecraft bus and its manipulators, whose coupling complicates the governing dynamics and tracking control. We formulated the dynamics of a spacecraft with two robotic arms and developed sliding-mode control that accounts for their mutual interaction. The numerical results demonstrated that variational integration preserves the system geometry during propagation and that the controller guides the end-effectors toward designated contact points on the target.

Completed Project

Extension of Udwadia-Kalaba Constrained Motion Analysis on Lie Groups and their Tangent Bundles

Faculty Innovative Research in Science and Technology

Spacecraft control methods often treat translational and rotational motion separately. This makes it difficult to account for their coupling while accommodating additional constraints. We extended the Udwadia-Kalaba formulation within geometric mechanics to determine the forces and torques required to achieve and maintain constrained rigid-body motion. The formulation can be extended to multibody systems.

Completed Project

College of Engineering Summer Research Stimulus Program

ERAU College of Engineering