An interview with Rahul Rughani, systems engineer for Arkisys, a company building an autonomous research outpost in low Earth orbit. Rahul has a Bachelor’s of Engineering degree in Mechanical engineering from McGill University, with a concentration in Aeronautics. He also holds both PhD and Master of Science degrees in Astronautical engineering from the University of Southern California. His specialization is on orbital optimization techniques for spacecraft swarms. The focus of his research is to enable in-orbit manufacturing, satellite aggregation, and close-quarters robotic inspection of spacecraft, using swarms of small and medium sized satellites in Earth orbit. He has worked as a systems engineer on CubeSat projects and has performed in-depth analysis of past, present, and future methods of spacecraft Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) through funding provided by DARPA.
In this interview we will learn about how swarm technologies can someday build huge infrastructures in space, help with space debris, and create factories on orbit, the Moon and Mars.
Resources:
Space Mission Analysis and Design by Wiley Larson
Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students by Howard Curtis.
SpaceNews, space news website
Science Fiction Books:
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Expanse Book Series by James S. Corey (Also a TV series on Amazon)
Hosted by: Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom, Co-Founder and CEO, SpaceBase
Music: reCreation by airtone (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons (3.0)
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