Active Research Projects
The Space Systems Design Studio performs fundamental research in spacecraft architecture. The driving question behind each of our spacecraft research projects is:
How can spacecraft accomplish more with limited resources in space?
We seek ways to use limited resources and little-known effects in orbit to give spacecraft new capabilities or make current capabilities more efficient.
Select one of the links on the right of this page to learn more about the active projects in our lab.
Facilities
Our team members conduct their work in simulation and laboratory experiments. We have lab space at Cornell University with CMG, flux pinning, and MII/LAO testbeds and experiments including motion capture equipment, clean rooms, air table simulators, and a thermal vacuum chamber.
In addition, the MII team utilizes the neighboring Cornell Nanofabrication Facility.
Past Projects
Previous research projects include a "hopping" gyroscopic rover for planetary exploration.
Sprite Spacecraft
Spacecraft systems printed on small wafers of silicon enable novel sensing and exploration architectures.
Flux-Pinned Spacecraft
Magnets and supercondcutors connect modular spacecraft without physical contact.
CubeSat Propulsion
Small-scale propulsion systems will allow CubeSat-class spacecraft to explore the solar system.
CMG Robotics
Space robotic systems use control-moment gyroscopes as low-power, high-torque actuators.
Lorentz-Augmented Orbits
Charged spacecraft achieve non-Keplerian orbits when they pass through magnetic fields.