Steve Gehly
Assistant Professor, Delft University of Technology
Friday, Jan. 20 | 10:30 a.m. | AERO 232
Abstract: As Earth orbit becomes increasingly congested, passive optical sensors remain one of the most important sources of data on space objects across all orbit regimes. However, the resultant angles-only measurements, often collected in short arcs with long gaps between observations, create challenges in state estimation and data association.
This presentation considers approaches to the problems of optical tracklet correlation and initial orbit determination, object characterization, and maneuver detection motivated by examples using real data from optical sensors including the TU Delft FOTOS, RMIT ROO telescope and USAFA/UNSW Falcon telescope.
Bio: Steve Gehly earned his B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering at USC, followed by his Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder, during which he focused on estimation techniques for space situational awareness, including multitarget filtering, initial orbit determination, and information-theoretic sensor management strategies.
He continued this work as a postdoctoral researcher in Australia, first at RMIT University in Melbourne, and then at UNSW Canberra.
He is currently an Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology where he is continuing to investigate practical solutions to the challenges posed by space debris tracking and estimation.