Adaptive Control and Concurrent Learning for Flexible Spacecraft

The seminar "Adaptive Control and Concurrent Learning for Flexible Spacecraft" will be held on 29 September 2026 at 4,30 pm, in Room 8D of Politecnico di Torino, and will be presented by Prof. Riccardo Bevilacqua, Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Abstract
Renewed interest in spacecraft equipped with large deployable structures and in-orbit assembly has increased the need for advanced control and estimation techniques. Technological developments are enabling ambitious missions such as the Near-Earth Asteroid Scout (NEA Scout), equipped with an 86-square-metre solar sail, and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research Project (SSPIDR), based on an incrementally assembled structure.
Modelling limitations, storage-induced deformations and partial deployments are among the reasons for developing an integrated approach to attitude control and structural parameter estimation. Moreover, complex systems of this kind can only be partially verified on the ground, making orbital flight the first opportunity for complete testing.
The seminar will introduce an adaptive control approach based on integral concurrent learning for the simultaneous orbital attitude control and estimation of structural parameters in flexible spacecraft.

Biography
Prof. Riccardo Bevilacqua is Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He received his M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering, cum laude, in 2002 and his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics in 2007, both from Sapienza University of Rome. He has received several awards and contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense, including two DoD Young Investigator Awards, and has authored or co-authored more than 170 publications. His research focuses on spacecraft formation flying, space robotics and spacecraft fragment fly-out prediction. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society and the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a member of the International Academy of Astronautics. He is also the founder and chair of the IAA Conference on Space Situational Awareness.