Selected Publications

Item In response to an increasingly congested and contested space domain, on-orbit servicing companies have answered with space-tested technologies and fair and accessible business plans to clean up Earth orbits or extend the life of existing satellites. Mission life extension and active debris removal are critical technologies and services for preventing orbits from reaching carrying capacity and the foreboding Kessler Syndrome. While these businesses are prepared to perform on-orbit services with new technology, the international legal mechanisms, regulatory oversight, and insurance infrastructure leave gaps introducing critical risks to the future of these companies. In this work, the challenges associated with these key functions are addressed, along with an assessment of the Liability Convention, specifically pertaining to on-orbit servicing missions. Additionally, there are barriers to buy down risk such as high premiums with manuscripted insurance policies that may not address all aspects of on-orbit servicing operations. Case studies of potential on-orbit servicing mishaps, their investigations, insurance coverages, contracts, and liability deliberations are presented, along with an overview of applicable laws and risk analysis techniques. Finally, a summary of recommendations is provided for incentives that could be administered at the international and State level in support of satellite operators utilizing on-orbit servicing spacecraft to promote a more sustainable space environment. description

With the growing capability and frequency of spacecraft launch operations, as well as the accelerated research and development of high-altitude hypersonic vehicles, the prospect of rocket-based cargo mobility requires new legal and policy strategies to contend the implications of projecting air power to any global theater within one hour via a vehicle based in the continental United States. The prospect of attaining global mobility measured on the scale of minutes rather than hours or days is a product of the sub-orbital trajectories associated with launch-on-demand systems. This article will explore the challenges posed by a sub-orbital launch-on-demand capability by not only air and space law, but also national policy and geopolitical perceptions. Citing contemporary legal and process-based requirements for space launch and atmospheric re-entry operations, this article will advocate an evolution of national policy to enable a launch-on-demand capability to deliver personnel and cargo to contested theaters of operation in support of U.S. core competencies of global reach and rapid global mobility.

The Earth–Moon gravitational system is naturally chaotic, and mathematical models such as the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP) employ layers of ordered assumptions in order to enable both trajectory generation and analysis. However, even within this simplified mathematical construct, the underlying chaos of multi-body gravitational systems introduces a pseudo-instability that yield a dynamic and sometimes drastic evolution of trajectory geometry despite seemingly insignificant changes in the initial position and/or velocity of an object. Three-body trajectories feature a natural artistry reminiscent of artistic styles and spiritual motifs originating from diverse time periods and cultures, ranging from sacred geometry and mandalic-like designs indicative of Buddhist and Hindu symbolism, to Spirograph art, and modernist and post-modernist minimalism. This work will analyze the artistic qualities of two classes of three-body trajectories within the Earth–Moon system: (1) cislunar periodic and near-periodic orbits, and (2) the mixture of quasi-periodic and chaotic trajectories of debris particles following a catastrophic breakup event. Overall, this work sets to prove that even in a chaotic multi-body environment, beauty and order emerges through a fine balance of initial conditions.

The Lawn Dart program, a proliferated mesh network of security commodities staged across the lunar surface, will promote a stable and sustainable space operating environment. Lawn Darts will deploy as probes from lunar orbit around the surface of the Moon to provide an Internet of Things and a power network for other operational assets such as rovers, people, and Moon bases. This capability and its execution raises questions about international law and geopolitical concerns related to territorial claims on the lunar surface and the planned organization of space activities by conflicting parties, but the program is compliant with the current framework of law and policy. The Lawn Dart program is essential for providing security for lunar assets, protecting mission data against adversaries, and laying the groundwork for NASA and European Space Agency exploration mission success.