Pub Date : 2025-12-15DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.11.006
Scott Dorrington, John Olsen
This paper details the formulation of a parametric economic model that expresses the costs, revenues, and return masses of asteroid mining missions as functions of critical systems, mission, and specific cost parameters. These are used to produce mathematical formulations for key economic figures of merit commonly used in asteroid mining feasibility studies, such as profit, net present value, and mass payback ratio. Several alternative versions of these expressions are formulated for different logistical approaches to asteroid mining missions, with alternatives for mining/extraction method (whole asteroid return or in situ processing), trajectory design (single trip or multiple return trips), and propellant supply strategy (supplied from Earth, refuelling in orbit, or processed in situ from asteroid resources). We further develop a new figure of merit – the break-even mass ratio BEMR – describing the mass of asteroid material required to be returned to produce zero profit or net present value, expressed as a ratio of the spacecraft dry mass. We demonstrate that this break-even mass ratio provides benefits over existing figures of merit in revealing critical delta-V limits above which missions can not produce positive economic returns, regardless of the return mass. Furthermore, this new metric is invariant to the spacecraft dry mass, allowing it to be applied to a range of spacecraft mass classes. We present a numerical study in which we use this new figure of merit to perform a break-even analysis, assessing the feasibility of the mission alternatives for both single-trip and multi-trip mining missions, over a range of specific impulses from 450 to 3000 s, and target asteroid delta-Vs up to 10 km/s. The results indicate that the typical asteroid mining scenario of a single-trip mission with propellant supplied entirely from Earth is only feasibly for delta-Vs less than 1.8 km/s for chemical propulsion, or 4.5 km/s for electric propulsion cases. We find that multi-trip missions that retrieve small shipments in each trip can be more profitable than a single-trip mission retrieving a large shipment over a long duration. The results also indicate other strategies that may be beneficial in increasing the viability of asteroid mining missions, such as processing return-trip propellant from asteroid resources, maximizing the amount of material retrieved in each return trip, and carrying reserve propellant on the initial trip to mitigate the risks of not finding the desired resources at the target asteroid. These findings may help inform the design of future asteroid mining missions.
{"title":"Parametric economic modelling of asteroid mining architectures","authors":"Scott Dorrington, John Olsen","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.11.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"This paper details the formulation of a parametric economic model that expresses the costs, revenues, and return masses of asteroid mining missions as functions of critical systems, mission, and specific cost parameters. These are used to produce mathematical formulations for key economic figures of merit commonly used in asteroid mining feasibility studies, such as profit, net present value, and mass payback ratio. Several alternative versions of these expressions are formulated for different logistical approaches to asteroid mining missions, with alternatives for mining/extraction method (whole asteroid return or in situ processing), trajectory design (single trip or multiple return trips), and propellant supply strategy (supplied from Earth, refuelling in orbit, or processed in situ from asteroid resources). We further develop a new figure of merit – the break-even mass ratio BEMR – describing the mass of asteroid material required to be returned to produce zero profit or net present value, expressed as a ratio of the spacecraft dry mass. We demonstrate that this break-even mass ratio provides benefits over existing figures of merit in revealing critical delta-V limits above which missions can not produce positive economic returns, regardless of the return mass. Furthermore, this new metric is invariant to the spacecraft dry mass, allowing it to be applied to a range of spacecraft mass classes. We present a numerical study in which we use this new figure of merit to perform a break-even analysis, assessing the feasibility of the mission alternatives for both single-trip and multi-trip mining missions, over a range of specific impulses from 450 to 3000 s, and target asteroid delta-Vs up to 10 km/s. The results indicate that the typical asteroid mining scenario of a single-trip mission with propellant supplied entirely from Earth is only feasibly for delta-Vs less than 1.8 km/s for chemical propulsion, or 4.5 km/s for electric propulsion cases. We find that multi-trip missions that retrieve small shipments in each trip can be more profitable than a single-trip mission retrieving a large shipment over a long duration. The results also indicate other strategies that may be beneficial in increasing the viability of asteroid mining missions, such as processing return-trip propellant from asteroid resources, maximizing the amount of material retrieved in each return trip, and carrying reserve propellant on the initial trip to mitigate the risks of not finding the desired resources at the target asteroid. These findings may help inform the design of future asteroid mining missions.","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"151 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145753473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-15DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.026
Rene Rueddenklau, Georg Schitter
This work proposes a methodology to optimize actuator contribution to the overall system for constellations with optical links between satellites and Earth, where multiple laser communication terminals are deployed on a common host platform to maximize link duration and enable data exchange between multiple communication nodes. To satisfy specifications regarding field of regard, bandwidth, and accuracy, a combination of dedicated actuators is employed. The strategy, known as control allocation, is tailored to meet the requirements of optical communication. The procedure considers the dynamics and constraints of each actuator, providing a comprehensive approach. It enables a modular design, including the host satellite platform itself. As a result, the allocation algorithm enables optimizations concerning power consumption, adaptation to dynamic link switching conditions, and tracking robustness compared to a decentralized approach. This is achieved by assigning disturbances to the most suitable actuator while meeting secondary objectives. Bounded non-linear weighted least squares optimization is used to account for coordinate system transformation, and a graphical tool is demonstrated to tune the involved weighting matrices in the developed multi-link scenario.
{"title":"Control allocation for over-actuated satellite laser communication systems","authors":"Rene Rueddenklau, Georg Schitter","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.026","url":null,"abstract":"This work proposes a methodology to optimize actuator contribution to the overall system for constellations with optical links between satellites and Earth, where multiple laser communication terminals are deployed on a common host platform to maximize link duration and enable data exchange between multiple communication nodes. To satisfy specifications regarding field of regard, bandwidth, and accuracy, a combination of dedicated actuators is employed. The strategy, known as control allocation, is tailored to meet the requirements of optical communication. The procedure considers the dynamics and constraints of each actuator, providing a comprehensive approach. It enables a modular design, including the host satellite platform itself. As a result, the allocation algorithm enables optimizations concerning power consumption, adaptation to dynamic link switching conditions, and tracking robustness compared to a decentralized approach. This is achieved by assigning disturbances to the most suitable actuator while meeting secondary objectives. Bounded non-linear weighted least squares optimization is used to account for coordinate system transformation, and a graphical tool is demonstrated to tune the involved weighting matrices in the developed multi-link scenario.","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145753472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article addresses the challenge of neural network-based adaptive control for fractional-order nonlinear systems in nonstrict-feedback form, subject to actuator faults and input saturation. Radial basis function neural networks are integrated into the recursive design to approximate unknown nonlinear dynamics of the system. To enhance robustness against actuator faults, a dedicated fault compensation mechanism is incorporated, where actuator fault severity is defined as the reduction in actuator effectiveness relative to normal operation, providing a clear and quantitative measure of the fault’s impact, regardless of the number or type of faults. Moreover, a smooth nonaffine function is employed to effectively capture the nonlinearity caused by input saturation. Fractional-order adaptive laws are developed, and closed-loop stability is rigorously established using the fractional-order Lyapunov criterion. The proposed robust adaptive control strategy ensures reliable performance, and its effectiveness is validated through a practical example.
{"title":"Neural adaptive control of fractional-order nonlinear systems subject to actuator faults and input saturation: Application to a single-link manipulator","authors":"Mohamed Kharrat, Hadil Alhazmi, Abdelwaheb Mhemdi, Ameni Gargouri","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.030","url":null,"abstract":"This article addresses the challenge of neural network-based adaptive control for fractional-order nonlinear systems in nonstrict-feedback form, subject to actuator faults and input saturation. Radial basis function neural networks are integrated into the recursive design to approximate unknown nonlinear dynamics of the system. To enhance robustness against actuator faults, a dedicated fault compensation mechanism is incorporated, where actuator fault severity is defined as the reduction in actuator effectiveness relative to normal operation, providing a clear and quantitative measure of the fault’s impact, regardless of the number or type of faults. Moreover, a smooth nonaffine function is employed to effectively capture the nonlinearity caused by input saturation. Fractional-order adaptive laws are developed, and closed-loop stability is rigorously established using the fractional-order Lyapunov criterion. The proposed robust adaptive control strategy ensures reliable performance, and its effectiveness is validated through a practical example.","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145753479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-15DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.024
Svetla Ben-Itzhak
Cislunar space, spanning the region between Earth and the Moon, is rapidly emerging as a critical frontier for geopolitical competition, commercial expansion, and normative contestation. While outer space has long been an area of strategic interest, recent developments suggest a shift from traditional models of space power, typically framed in unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar terms, to more networked structures of influence. This paper explores the emergence of a new international order in cislunar space termed complex hegemony, in which dominance is sustained through dense networks of partnerships, joint missions, and shared infrastructure, rather than imposed through unilateral control. A defining feature of this system is networked governance, characterized by layered participation, consensus-building, and the strategic use of network power to shape norms, access, and agendas. By examining this evolving order, the paper assesses its implications for global governance and reflects on how cislunar developments challenge core concepts in international relations theory.
{"title":"Complex Hegemony in Cislunar Space: Network Power and Implications for Global Governance","authors":"Svetla Ben-Itzhak","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.024","url":null,"abstract":"Cislunar space, spanning the region between Earth and the Moon, is rapidly emerging as a critical frontier for geopolitical competition, commercial expansion, and normative contestation. While outer space has long been an area of strategic interest, recent developments suggest a shift from traditional models of space power, typically framed in unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar terms, to more networked structures of influence. This paper explores the emergence of a new international order in cislunar space termed <ce:italic>complex hegemony</ce:italic>, in which dominance is sustained through dense networks of partnerships, joint missions, and shared infrastructure, rather than imposed through unilateral control. A defining feature of this system is <ce:italic>networked governance</ce:italic>, characterized by layered participation, consensus-building, and the strategic use of <ce:italic>network power</ce:italic> to shape norms, access, and agendas. By examining this evolving order, the paper assesses its implications for global governance and reflects on how cislunar developments challenge core concepts in international relations theory.","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145753477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The interaction between the vehicle's electrostatic accumulation and the plasma in hypersonic flight environments has received little attention. To investigate this mechanism, an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) system was employed to generate plasmas with plasma densities up to 1017m-3 and electron temperatures of several eV, replicating key characteristics of hypersonic plasmas. Using this platform, the interactions of metallic and dielectric targets with the plasma were systematically examined. The results show that positively charged metallic targets significantly enhance local plasma density by up to 180% via electrostatic attraction. However, negatively charged metallic targets reduced plasma density due to electric field repulsion, followed by a subsequent increase attributed to secondary electron emission from positive ion bombardment. The motion of charged particles induced measurable currents at the milliampere level in the circuit. In contrast, dielectric targets accumulate surface charge that effectively suppresses electric-field penetration and produces negligible influence on the adjacent plasma. These observations illustrate how electrostatic potentials modify the dynamics of charged-particle near different materials and provide useful guidance for electrostatic protection and flight safety considerations in hypersonic vehicles.
{"title":"Experimental Study on Electrostatic–Plasma Interaction in an Inductively Coupled Plasma Environment Relevant to Hypersonic Flight","authors":"Manyu Wang, Pengfei Li, Bing Wang, Zhongzheng He, Ruoyu Han, Xi Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.029","url":null,"abstract":"The interaction between the vehicle's electrostatic accumulation and the plasma in hypersonic flight environments has received little attention. To investigate this mechanism, an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) system was employed to generate plasmas with plasma densities up to 10<ce:sup loc=\"post\">17</ce:sup>m<ce:sup loc=\"post\">-3</ce:sup> and electron temperatures of several eV, replicating key characteristics of hypersonic plasmas. Using this platform, the interactions of metallic and dielectric targets with the plasma were systematically examined. The results show that positively charged metallic targets significantly enhance local plasma density by up to 180% via electrostatic attraction. However, negatively charged metallic targets reduced plasma density due to electric field repulsion, followed by a subsequent increase attributed to secondary electron emission from positive ion bombardment. The motion of charged particles induced measurable currents at the milliampere level in the circuit. In contrast, dielectric targets accumulate surface charge that effectively suppresses electric-field penetration and produces negligible influence on the adjacent plasma. These observations illustrate how electrostatic potentials modify the dynamics of charged-particle near different materials and provide useful guidance for electrostatic protection and flight safety considerations in hypersonic vehicles.","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145753474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-13DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.001
Weixiao Li, Yu Zhang, Guo Chen, Jihao Yin
{"title":"Fine-grained space object classification with Convolution-Boosted LSTM using light curves: A new method and a large scale dataset","authors":"Weixiao Li, Yu Zhang, Guo Chen, Jihao Yin","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"111 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-12DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.027
Tomasz Rybus, Arkadiusz Tkacz, Karol Seweryn
{"title":"Modified Mori-Ishigami model for estimating forces acting on the Rotary Clamshell Excavator during lunar regolith sampling","authors":"Tomasz Rybus, Arkadiusz Tkacz, Karol Seweryn","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.027","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"228 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-11DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.020
Sunayna Singh, Marco Sagliano
{"title":"Optimal control-based design and feasibility assessment of rendezvous trajectories for ‘In-Air Capturing’ of a reusable launcher stage","authors":"Sunayna Singh, Marco Sagliano","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.020","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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