Beyond Horizon: A One-Shot Space Exploration Paradigm Through Autonomous Space Systems

Dr. Yashwanth Kumar Nakka is currently a Robotics Technologist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he leads the research and development planning, controls and estimation tasks on CADRE, EELS, and DARPA LINC . His research interests broadly include design of aerospace autonomous systems, spacecraft autonomy, planning (guidance) under uncertainty, and nonlinear dynamics and control. He received a B. Tech. in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, India, in 2011, an M. Sc. degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA, in 2016, and an M. Sc. degree and a Ph.D. in space engineering from California Institute of Technology, CA, USA, in 2017, and 2021, respectively. He was an engineer for the GSAT-15 and 16 missions at the Indian Space Research Organization from 2011 to 2014. He received the best student paper award at the 2021 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Guidance, Navigation, and Controls conference and the best paper award at the 11th International Workshop on Satellite Constellations and Formation Flying. In addition, he serves as AE for AIAA Scitech 2023 for Autonomy and AI track for Aerospace Vehicle GNC and is an AIAA GNC Technical Committee member.