Relative Motion and Proximity Operations Beyond Earth Orbit

Since almost the start of the space age, flying spacecraft in formation has been an important part of on-orbit operations. Formation flight requires a deep knowledge of relative motion dynamics, and proximity operations are ubiquitous in the history of NASA's space program. From repairing the Hubble space telescope, to building and resupplying the international space station, to determining Earth's gravity field with high accuracy, many valuable missions in Earth's orbit are unthinkable without relative motion. However, when spacecraft fly beyond the immediate vicinity of Earth and begin to experience more pull from the Moon and other perturbations, legacy models for relative motion are no longer valid in these regimes. Extending relative motion and proximity operations beyond Earth orbit is of increasing importance as the Gateway and other missions aim to place high-value spacecraft and human lives in lunar orbit long-term. The proposed research will develop new and enhance existing equations of relative motion applicable to non-Keplerian environments. Special attention will be given to mission scenarios including periodic chief orbits, such as Near Rectilinear Halo Orbits, Distant Retrograde Orbits, Lissajous orbits and other orbits in the vicinity of three-body equilibrium points. Classes of solutions will be sought to initial and boundary value problems arising in these models. These solutions will be applied to rendezvous and proximity operations including optimal control, formation flight, and uncertainty propagation. Relevant mission destinations include all cislunar applications, planetary moon missions, and missions to asteroids and comets.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.