Acta Astronautica最新文献

{"title":"Multi-criteria decision-making approach for automated planning and scheduling of lunar launch and landing pad construction","authors":"Chinedu Okonkwo ,&nbsp;Ibukun Awolusi ,&nbsp;Sazzad Bin-Shafique ,&nbsp;Kiran Bhaganagar ,&nbsp;Sam Ximenes ,&nbsp;Joe Redfield ,&nbsp;James Johnson","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.032","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.032","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Planning lunar surface infrastructure construction can be hindered by environmental, operational, and technological factors. Uncertainty over the impact of these factors on project timelines is a major concern and can affect lunar project planning. This study employs a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach to identify and prioritize critical factors influencing the automated construction of lunar launch and landing pads (LLP) using sintering-based regolith bricks. Variance-based global sensitivity analysis is used to assess the influence of key operational and environmental factors on construction efficiency. Six factors that affect project duration, (a) regolith excavation rate, (b) sintering-energy demand, (c) brick-production cycle time, (d) power availability, (e) operational work-window efficiency, and (f) stochastic environmental delay, were sampled across realistic ranges drawn from current state-of-the-art studies. Variance–based sensitivity analysis revealed a clear hierarchy: operational work-window efficiency explained the majority of schedule variance at every construction scale, while brick-production rate and power availability were secondary drivers. Excavation speed mattered only for very small builds, and both sintering energy and moderate random delays had a mild influence. These results indicate that, for near-term missions, investments that extend productive duty cycles like continuous robotics, nighttime power, and higher autonomy will shorten build times far more than incremental gains in digging speed or furnace efficiency. The study presents a novel application of variance-based sensitivity methods in infrastructure modeling that offers a concise, evidence-based ranking of design levers for mission planners and demonstrates how global sensitivity analysis can sharpen decision-making for complex off-Earth construction problems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"240 ","pages":"Pages 760-770"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145785530","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}

{"title":"Lagrange–Poincaré–Kepler equations of disturbed space-manipulator systems in orbit","authors":"Borna Monazzah Moghaddam ,&nbsp;Robin Chhabra","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.033","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.033","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article presents an extension of the Lagrange–Poincaré Equations (LPE) to model the dynamics of spacecraft–manipulator systems operating within a non-inertial orbital reference frame. Building upon prior formulations of LPE for vehicle–manipulator systems, the proposed framework — termed the Lagrange–Poincaré–Kepler Equations (LPKE) — incorporates the coupling between spacecraft attitude dynamics, orbital motion, and manipulator kinematics. The formalism combines the Euler–Poincaré equations for the base spacecraft, Keplerian orbital dynamics for the reference frame, and reduced Euler–Lagrange equations for the manipulator’s shape space. Using the Lagrange–d’Alembert principle, we derive closed-form structural matrices that explicitly capture the effects of orbital disturbances and their dynamic coupling with the manipulator. The framework naturally includes symmetry-breaking wrenches and integrates into hardware-in-the-loop simulations and model-based control architectures. A simulation study of a 7-DOF orbital manipulator demonstrates the effectiveness and numerical advantages of the LPKE formulation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"240 ","pages":"Pages 816-829"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145785528","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}

{"title":"Tribological behavior of typical space solid lubricant films in the presence of lunar dust simulants","authors":"Wang Hao-Yu ,&nbsp;Ma Guo-Zheng ,&nbsp;Huang Qing-Wei ,&nbsp;Li Shao-Song ,&nbsp;Yan Xin-Yi ,&nbsp;Chen Shu-Ying ,&nbsp;Ren Zhi-Ying","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.028","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.028","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As a key target for human deep space exploration, the lunar environment presents numerous environmental challenges, among which lunar dust poses a particularly significant issue. This study investigates the tribological performance of typical space-grade solid lubricant films in the presence of lunar dust and evaluates their adaptability based on material-specific lubrication characteristics. Experiments were conducted using CLDS-type lunar dust simulant developed by the Institute of Geochemistry and the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Three representative solid lubricant films, amorphous carbon (a-C), molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), and tungsten carbide-doped diamond-like carbon (WC-DLC), were selected for testing under various environmental conditions, including atmospheric pressure, vacuum, and irradiation environments, using the MSTS-1 vacuum tribometer. The results indicate that lunar dust significantly affects the friction and wear behavior of the solid lubricant films. In certain environments, lunar dust can also act as a particulate lubricant, reducing the friction coefficient. Notably, MoS₂ films maintained good wear resistance and a low friction coefficient under vacuum even after the introduction of lunar dust simulant. In contrast, a-C and WC-DLC films exhibited degraded lubrication performance and elevated friction coefficients in atmospheric conditions, but benefited from particulate lubrication effects under vacuum, resulting in reduced friction and improved performance. Furthermore, atomic oxygen erosion and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation were found to significantly deteriorate the film properties, leading to a decline in lubrication performance. Overall, future deep space exploration missions will require further optimization of material composition and structural design to enhance the durability and reliability of lubrication systems in the lunar environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"240 ","pages":"Pages 650-664"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145790391","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}

{"title":"An efficient hybrid motion planning framework for redundant space manipulators in constrained environments","authors":"Jingdong Zhao ,&nbsp;Yiming Zhang ,&nbsp;Guocai Yang ,&nbsp;Xiaohang Yang ,&nbsp;Hong Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.025","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.025","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Space robotic manipulators are crucial for on-orbit servicing tasks like satellite maintenance and debris removal. However, the complex environment poses major challenges, especially obstacle avoidance and self-collision risks under joint constraints. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a hybrid motion planning framework for 7-degree-of-freedom (7-DOF) Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) type manipulators to complete the grasping tasks in constrained orbital environments. First, the extended manipulability is introduced to evaluate inverse kinematics (IK) solutions by integrating manipulability ellipsoid analysis, joint limit proximity, and obstacle distance. Subsequently, the proposed Wrapping-based Informed RRT∗-Connect (WIRRT∗-Connect) algorithm efficiently generates optimal collision-free paths in high-dimensional configuration space. Finally, a minimum-jerk trajectory generation method ensures smooth and dynamically feasible motion while accounting for system constraints. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is validated through simulations in ADAMS under two representative on-orbit scenarios. Compared with the conventional sample-based motion planning methods discussed in this paper, the proposed approach demonstrates significant improvements in computational efficiency and path optimality, while ensuring dynamically feasible trajectories.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"240 ","pages":"Pages 635-649"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145790389","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}

{"title":"Noordung's “Wohnrad” – the precursor to rotating space station architecture","authors":"DrIng Sandra Haeuplik-Meusburger","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The drawings of a rotating space station, introduced by Hermann Potočnik, known as Noordung, in his book <em>The Problem of Space Travel</em> in 1929, mark a milestone in the history of spaceflight concepts. While scientists and rocket engineers like Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Hermann Oberth and others had already discussed the concept of a spacestation in the 1880s, Noordung presented the first detailed technical description and drawings of a space station. Many of these ideas have propelled other interesting concepts for rotating space stations.</div><div>This paper provides an overview of the rotating wheel-shaped space station concept, with a special attention to the ‘Wohnrad’ and the ‘Observatory’, and its interior architectural design features. It provides information about its historical context, and the dissemination of this concept by figures such as Wernher von Braun and the artist Chesley Bonestell, and others, who promoted the vision of a spacestation to the general public in the 1950s.</div><div>The unique part of this paper is the re-assessment of its space-architectural concept, based on a digital reconstruction of Noordung's space station. The original drawings, plans, images, and textual descriptions from Noordung's book were translated into a detailed three-dimensional virtual model. The model was subsequently produced as a physical prototype using 3D printing. Through this process of reconstructing the station's geometry, new insights emerged regarding the overall architectural concept — including the proportional relationships between the different habitat modules, spatial layout, and operational logic. Additionally, the reconstruction revealed unexpected findings related to the interior architecture and functional use of space, allowing us to better understand Noordung's design intentions and evaluate the feasibility of his concept from a contemporary perspective. This research deepens the historical understanding of early space habitat concepts, and also provides valuable lessons for future rotating space habitats and the evolving field of space architecture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"241 ","pages":"Pages 594-607"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145979118","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}

{"title":"Parametric economic modelling of asteroid mining architectures","authors":"Scott Dorrington,&nbsp;John Olsen","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.11.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>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 cannot 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.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"241 ","pages":"Pages 19-47"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"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}

{"title":"Control allocation for over-actuated satellite laser communication systems","authors":"René Rüeddenklau ,&nbsp;Georg Schitter","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.026","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>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.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"240 ","pages":"Pages 522-529"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"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}

{"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 ,&nbsp;Hadil Alhazmi ,&nbsp;Abdelwaheb Mhemdi ,&nbsp;Ameni Gargouri","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.030","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.030","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>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.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"240 ","pages":"Pages 805-815"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"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}

{"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":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>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 <em>complex hegemony</em>, 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 <em>networked governance</em>, characterized by layered participation, consensus-building, and the strategic use of <em>network power</em> 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.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"240 ","pages":"Pages 687-694"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"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}

{"title":"Experimental study on electrostatic–plasma interaction in an inductively coupled plasma environment relevant to hypersonic flight","authors":"Manyu Wang,&nbsp;Pengfei Li,&nbsp;Bing Wang,&nbsp;Zhongzheng He,&nbsp;Ruoyu Han,&nbsp;Xi Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.029","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.12.029","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>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.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44971,"journal":{"name":"Acta Astronautica","volume":"240 ","pages":"Pages 560-567"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"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}