Hosted by the College of Engineering and School of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Abstract

For decades, space exploration has conjured visions of advanced technology. However, for much of our history, spaceflight has made limited use of autonomy and onboard computational capability. This has changed in the past few years, particularly at more distant locations or in applications where the number of collaborative sensors is large. This seminar will review the systems trade between ground-in-the-loop and autonomous operations from a risk perspective, discuss recent advances in space exploration enabled by autonomy, and highlight the new class of spaceflight missions possible in the coming decade. Recent examples from the speakers experience working with NASAs Mars Perseverance rover, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) and Dragonfly teams will be referenced.

Biography

Robert D. Braun is a space systems engineer, technologist and organizational leader. He has contributed to the formulation, development, and operation of multiple spaceflight missions and is a recognized authority in hypersonics technology and the entry, descent and landing domain. Braun serves on the executive leadership team of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory with responsibilities that span all civil and national security space activities at the Lab. He previously served in executive positions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Colorado Boulder, and NASA and has served as a tenured professor at Georgia Tech, CU Boulder and Caltech. He began his engineering career at the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory before serving as a technical staff member of NASAs Langley Research Center. Braun is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Astronautical Society, and the author or coauthor of over 300 technical publications. Among numerous recognitions, he has been a member of two teams that were each awarded the Collier Trophy.