Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research

Researchers at CU Boulder have gotten front-row seats to one of the closest encounters with an asteroid in history. On Dec. 4, 2018, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft zipped to within 4.5 miles of the asteroid Bennu. This space rock has an orbit that carries...

Scott Palo is leading a multi-university effort to unlock a scientific mystery in near-Earth space. He is leading a team that has earned a $4 million, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation's Ideas Lab to design and build three CubeSat nanosatellites to investigate the...

By Smead Aerospace Research Professor Delores Knipp and RAL Space Head of Space Weather Michael Hapgood: On November 7, 2019, in response to an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandate, the world’s major space weather centers will start issuing global advisories related to disruptions in: high-frequency radio communications; communications via...

The National Academy of Engineering has officially elected Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences professor Penina Axelrad as a new member. Election to the prestigious academy is among the highest professional distinctions bestowed upon an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice...

And liftoff. Today, visitors from across Colorado gathered at CU Boulder for an event celebrating the new Aerospace Engineering Sciences Building , home to the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences . This building, which occupies roughly 175,000 square feet on East Campus, will be the new...

Mines like these, deployed in waters off the coast of Vietnam just 3 months earlier, suddenly detonated without explanation in August 1972. The event was attributed to “magnetic perturbations of solar storms.” Credit: U.S. Navy In 1972, during the waning years of the Vietnam War, U.S. military pilots flying south...

The Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences has moved into a new dedicated building on East Campus. The four-story, nearly 180,000 square-foot structure was completed over the summer following 18 months of construction, and a formal ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for Monday, August 26, to kick off the semester...

Declassified files are showing researchers the unpredictable nature of the Sun and helping them work towards predicting the next big solar storm. Seeker sat down with Smead Aerospace Research Professor Delores Knipp to find out more. Watch the full story.

Professor Jade Morton has been elected a fellow of the United Kingdom's Royal Institute of Navigation in a ceremony that featured Princess Anne. Morton's selection is in recognition of her significant contributions to the understanding of ionospheric effects on navigation satellite signals, development of...

Dr. Dan Scheeres was in Japan waiting for an important announcement that took an extra day to come. He found out his plan to study binary asteroids was allowed to proceed by NASA. “We want to send two small spacecraft so we can also see what the temperature of the...