Research

Overview of the project EPSRC/Connecting Everything II Grant Ref: EP/S036113/1

Origami Solar Sail Technology & Additive Manufacturing

(YouTube Video) Manufacturing of 3D-printed morphing origami solar sails for the next generation of CubeSats

The project is exploring Additive Manufacturing (AM) to prototype a new morphing origami solar sail mechanism for next generation of self-reconfigurable CubeSats. A solar sail is an origami thin, lightweight highly reflective membrane capable of harnessing the effect of the Sun radiation pressure. It enables fuel-free propulsion by reflecting the intensity of the sunlight. This project will demonstrate the feasibility of a new generation of origami solar sail’s membrane that, by changing its local surface reflectivity, will trigger shape reconfiguration for multi operational CubeSats.

EPSRC/Connecting Everything II Grant Ref: EP/S036113/1
PI Dr Stefania Soldini, University of Liverpool
CoI Dr Paolo Paoletti, UoL

Partners:
Dr Juan Reveles, Oxford Space Systems
Dr Stephane Bonardi, Dr Naoya Ozaki, Dr Ahmed Sugihara, Prof Osamu Mori, JAXA

Keywords: Self-folding Origami Robots; Additive Manufacturing, Solar Sails

Families of periodic orbits around the 1:1 resonances of Ryugu asteroid from S. Soldini, S. Takanao, H. Ikeda et al., Planetary and Space Science, 180, 2020 (DOI: /10.1016/j.pss.2019.104740).

Asteroids and minor celestial bodies

A generalised methodology for analytic construction of 1:1 resonances around irregular bodies: Application to the asteroid Ryugu’s ejecta dynamics

• Developing GNC algorithms for spacecraft-asteroids proximity operations.
• Radio science expertise in particular in gravity modelling from shape model, spherical harmonics and Mascons.
• Interested in studying non-uniform density asteroids and their gravitational anomalies.
• Derived a generalised semi-analytical method to compute periodic orbits around the 1:1 resonances of non-uniform density asteroids.
• Looking for interfacing impact physics with astrodynamics through Mascon-SPH gravity models
• Working on interior and exterior gravity fields to determine Mascons distribution from high-fidelity models (e.g. polyhedron, stockes coefficient or gravity data measurements) interested in using AI for curve fitting.

Keywords: Mascons Gravity Model; Polyhedron Gravity Model, Smooth sphere particles; 1:1 resonances; Periodic Orbits;

Ejecta Particles Dynamics

The Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI) and the Hayabusa2 Impact Experiment

• Experience with the Hayabusa2's SCI experiment by modelling the dynamics of the ejecta particles
• Use of crater scaling models for ejecta particles computation
• Interested in hydrocode software for impact physics simulation and its interface with astrodynamics
• Interested in the effect of solar radiation pressure on ejecta particle dynamics

Keywords: Hayabusa2’s small carry-on impactor operation; Fate of ejecta

Research grants

REMORA - REndezvous Mission for Orbital Reconstruction of Asteroids: A fleet of Self-driven CubeSats for Tracing and Tagging Asteroids

UK RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

August 2022 - January 2028

Manufacturing of a 3D-printed origami solar sail for next generation of shape-changing CubeSat’s devices

ENGINEERING & PHYSICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL

September 2020 - April 2021

Research collaborations

Dr Elisabet Canalias

Transfers from planar to 3D Quasi Satellite Orbits around Mars’ moon Phobos: sensitivity analysis (MSc Project)

CNES (French Space Agency)

Determine the most robust application point of the inclination change manoeuvre allowing to transfer from a planar Quasi Satellite Orbit (QSO) around Phobos to a 3 dimensional one.