Marko Jankovic is a Stardust ITN Early Stage Researcher at the German Research Center for Artifcial Intelligence (DFKI). His current work involves close-range navigation and manipulation of space debris and asteroids. He has previously participated in the development of a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation system for the German On-Orbit Servicing Technology Demonstration mission (DEOS) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Oberpfaffenhofen. He also participated in the development of a micro-propulsion system of the university microsatellite Alma Mater Satellite-1 (ALMASat-1) at the University of Bologna. His academic background consists of a M.Sc. in Astronautical Engineering obtained with honours at Sapienza University of Rome and of a B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering obtained at the University of Bologna. When he is not glued to a computer screen, reading news about space and robotics, he spends his time painting and doing sports.


Project description:

Close-Range Navigation and Manipulation of Space Debris and Asteroids.
The research at DFKI, within the Stardust network, is dedicated to the analysis and development of technologies and techniques for active removal of space debris and asteroids. In particular, the practical application of technologies to enable proximity operations with hard real-time requirements will be studied. Algorithms for on-board data pre-processing, task-specic data analysis, and close-range relative GNC and control of interacting systems will be developed, such that we can ensure a secure,synchronized and controlled approach of a vessel to a free-flying, uncooperative object.

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Frank Kirchner and Dr. Jan Paul.