David K. Geller
Utah State University
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department
4130 Old Main Hill
Logan, Utah, 84322
435.797.2952
E-mail: david.geller@.usu.edu
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Utah State University, Logan, UT
2004-present Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Teaching and research in spacecraft guidance and navigation systems and
trajectory design
Grants and Awards
- “Rapid GNC Analysis For Space Missions”, NASA, 2009, $499,000
- “Autonomous Space Quality Imagery for LEO/GEO Operations”,
ARFL, 2008, $476,000
- “GN&C Linear Covariance Analysis For Autonomous Landing and
Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT)”, NASA, 2008, $58,400
- “Project Orion Guidance and Targeting Analysis and Algorithms“,
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, 2008, $483,000
- “GN&C Linear Covariance Analysis For Autonomous Landing and
Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT)”, NASA, 2007, $56,543
- “Autonomous Space Quality Imagery for LEO/GEO Operations”,
AFOSR, 2007, $133,547
- “Performance of Concepts and Technology Areas Related to
Spacecraft Maneuvering and Formation Flying”, NRO, 2006, $39,640
- “Rapid GNC Analysis For Space Missions”, NASA, 2006, $167,300
- “Engagement Scenarios for Space Situational Awareness”, SDL/
ARFL, 2006, $36,026
- “GN&C Linear Covariance Analysis For Autonomous Landing and
Hazard Avoidance Technology ”, UT/NASA, 2006, $30,000
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- “GN&C Algorithm Development and Mission Design for Orbital
Inspection and Rendezvous”, Lockheed Martin, 2006, $99,113
Teaching
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Advanced Dynamics (MAE 3320)
Space Navigation (MAE 6560)
Advanced Astrodyanmics (MAE 6540)
Optimal Spacecraft Guidance (MAE 6930)
Beginning Algebra (Math 0900 Distance Education)
Optimal Estimation for Aerospace Systems (MAE 7930)
Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Kirtland AFB
2009-Present Program manager at USU for ASTRIA sponsored projects
Program manager for projects sponsors by the Advanced Science and
Technology Research Institute for Astrodynamics (ASTRIA)
Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Kirtland AFB
2008-Present Member ANGELS Advisory Board
Member of the Advanced Navigation and Guidance Experiment for Local
Space (ANGELS) advisory board
2009
2006
2005
1998-2004
NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD.
Consultant for NASA’s Independent Program Assessment Office
(IPAO): Served on the Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission (MMS)
GN&C PDR Review Team
NASA/Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Consultant for NASA’s Independent Program Assessment Office
(IPAO): Served on the Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission (MMS)
Independent Review Team (IRT)
NASA/Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Consultant for NASA’s Independent Program Assessment Office
(IPAO): Served on the Hubble Robotic Servicing and De-orbit Mission
(HRSDM) Independent Review Team (IRT)
The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA
Senior Member Technical Staff
Trajectory design and guidance, navigation and control system design
and analysis for civilian and military space applications (Mars Science
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Laboratory/JPL, Orbital Express/DARPA, Mars Sample Return/JPL,
Mars Airplane/LaRC)
1993-1998
1990-1993
1984-1990
Rice University, Houston, TX
Ph.D. studies and research (see Education Section below)
NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
Deputy Chief, Spacecraft Performance Analysis Branch
Trajectory design, guidance, navigation and control system design
and analysis for the Lunar Mars Exploration Program
NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
Aerospace Engineer
Trajectory design, guidance, navigation and control system design and
analysis for civilian applications (Space Shuttle, Space Station, Advanced
Launch System, GPS)
EDUCATION:
May 1999
May 1984
May 1982
Rice University, Houston, TX
Ph.D. in Space Physics and Astronomy
Dissertation: “Classical Electron-Ion Scattering in Strongly Magnetized
Plasmas: A Generalized Coulomb Logarithm and Gaunt Factor”
Supervisor: Dr. Jon Weisheit
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
M.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Master’s Thesis: “Computer Aided Control System Design”
Supervisor Dr. Jason Speyer
B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Areas of Concentration: Numerical Methods, Orbital Mechanics
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PUBLICATIONS
D. Woffinden, D. Geller, “Optimal Orbital Rendezvous Maneuvers for Angles-Only
Navigation”, Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 32 No. 4, 2009.
D. Woffinden, B. Rose. D. Geller, “Trigger Angle Targeting for Orbital Rendezvous”,
Journal of Astronautical Sciences, Vol. 56, No. 4, 2008.
D. Geller, D. Christensen, “Linear Covariance Analysis for Lunar Powered Descent
Navigation”, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol.
46 No. 6, 2009.
N. Stastny, D. Geller, “Autonomous Optical Navigation at Jupiter: A Linear Covariance
Analysis”, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 45 No. 2, 2008.
D. Geller, D. Woffinden, B. Rose, “Event Triggers in Linear Covariance Analysis
Techniques with Applications to Orbital Rendezvous”, Journal of Guidance, Dynamics,
and Control, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2009.
D. Woffinden, D. Geller, “Observability Criteria for Angles-Only Navigation”, IEEE
Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Vol. 45, No. 3, 2009.
D. Woffinden, D. Geller, “Navigating the Road to Autonomous Orbital Rendezvous”,
Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 44, No. 4, 2007.
D. Woffinden, D. Geller, “Relative Angles-Only Navigation and Pose Estimation for
Autonomous Orbital Rendezvous”, Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, Vol. 30,
No. 5, 2007.
D. Geller, “A Brief Study of Ground Controlled Orbital Rendezvous: When is Autonomy
Required?”, Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, Vol. 30, No. 4, 2007.
D. Geller, “Analysis of the Relative Attitude Estimation and Control Problem for Satellite
Inspection and orbital Rendezvous”, Journal of Astronautical Sciences, Vol. 54, No. 3,
2007.
D. Geller, “Linear Covariance Techniques for Orbital Rendezvous Analysis and
Autonomous Onboard Mission Planning”, Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics,
Vol. 29, No. 6, 2006.
D. Geller, J. Weisheit, “Classical Electron-Ion Scattering in Strongly Magnetized
Plasmas”, Physics of Plasmas Journal, Vol. 4, December, 1997.
K. Byun, B. Wie, D. Geller, J. Sunkel, “Robust H(infinity) Control Design for the Space
Station with Structured Parameter Uncertainty”, Journal of Guidance, Control and
Dynamics, Vol. 14, No. 6, 1991.
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W. Warren, B. Wie, D. Geller, “Periodic-Disturbance Accommodating Control of the
Space Station for Asymptotic Momentum Management”, Journal of Guidance, Control
and Dynamics, Vol. 13, No. 6, 1990.
B Wie, K. W. Byun, V. W. Warren, D. Geller, D. Long, J. Sunkel, “New Approach to
Attitude/Momentum Control for the Space Station”, Journal of Guidance, Control and
Dynamics, Vol. 12, No. 5, 1989.
PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS:
M Phillips, D. Geller, “ Procedure for Determining Spacecraft Collision Probability
During Orbital Rendezvous and Proximity Operations”, to be presented at the
AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, New Orleans, Feb 2011.
R. Gillis, D. Geller, “Improved Angles-Only Navigation Performance in GEO Using
Low-Thrust Propulsion”, to be presented at the AAS/AIAA G&C Conference,
Breckenridge, CO, Feb 2011.
S. Robinson, J. Anderson, D. Geller, “A Simple Strategy for Computing Time-Optimal
Earth-Return Trajectories for Lunar and Cis-Lunar Flight”, AIAA GN&C Conference,
Toronto, Canada, August 2010.
J. Schmidt, D. Geller, “Viability of Angles-Only Navigation for Orbital Rendezvous
Operations”, AIAA GN&C Conference, Toronto, Canada, August 2010.
B. Rose, D. Geller, “Linear Covariance Techniques for Powered Ascent”, AIAA GN&C
Conference, Toronto, Canada, August 2010.
S. Robinson, D. Geller, “A Simple Numerical Procedure for Computing Multi-Impulse
Lunar Escape Sequences with Minimal Time-of-Flight”, AIAA Space Flight Mechanics
Conference, San Diego, CA, February 2010.
J. Schmidt, D. Geller, “Improving Angles-Only Navigation Performance by Selecting
Sufficiently Accurate Accelerometers”, AIAA/USU Small Satellite Conference, Logan,
UT, August, 2009.
S. Robinson, D. Geller, “Optimizing Impulsive Orbital Transfer Maneuvers with the
Primer Vector”, AIAA GN&C Conference, Chicago, IL, August, 2009.
D. Woffinden, D. Geller “Optimal Orbital Rendezvous Maneuvering for Angles-Only
Navigation”, AAS Guidance and Control Conference, Breckenridge, CO, February, 2009.
D. Christensen, D. Geller “Terrain Relative and Beacon-Relative Navigation for Lunar
Powered Descent and Landing”, AAS Guidance and Control Conference, Breckenridge,
CO, February, 2009.
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D. Geller, J. McInroy, J. Schmidt, S. Robinson “Autonomous Quality Space Imagery for
LEO/GEO Operations”, AIAA GN&C Conference, Honolulu, HI, August, 2008.
D. Geller, B. Rose, D. Woffinden, “Event Triggers in Linear Covariance Analysis with
Application to Orbital Rendezvous”, AAS Guidance and Control Conference,
Breckenridge, CO, February, 2008.
D. Woffinden, B. Rose, D. Geller “Trigger Angle Targeting for Orbital Rendezvous”,
AAS Guidance and Control Conference, Breckenridge, CO, February, 2008.
S. Jensen, D. Geller, “Attitude Determination and Control System of the Toriod
Satellite”, AIAA/USU Small Satellite Conference, Logan, Utah, August, 2007.
T. Moesser, D. Geller, “Guidance and Navigation Linear Covariance Analysis for Lunar
Powered Descent”, AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialists Conference, Mackinac Island,
MI, August 2007.
B. Bingham, D. Geller, “Preliminary Orbit Determination or Orbital Rendezvous Using
Gauss’ Method”, AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialists Conference, Mackinac Island,
MI, August 2007.
S. Jenkins, D. Geller, “A Performance Comparison of Navigation and Targeting
Algorithms for Orbital Rendezvous and Proximity Operations”, AIAA/AAS
Astrodynamics Specialists Conference, Mackinac Island, MI, August 2007.
D. Woffinden, D. Geller, “Observability Criteria for Angles-Only Navigation”,
AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialists Conference, Mackinac Island, MI, August 2007.
D. Woffinden, D. Geller, “Navigating the Road to Autonomous Orbital Rendezvous”,
AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialists Conference, Mackinac Island, MI, August 2007.
D. Geller, “Linear Covariance Analysis for Lunar Powered Descent and Landing”, AAS
Guidance and Control Conference, Breckenridge, CO, February, 2007.
D. Geller, “A Brief Study of Ground Controlled Orbital Rendezvous: When is Autonomy
Required?”, AIAA/AAS GN&C Conference, Keystone, CO, August 2006.
D. Woffinden, D. Geller, “Relative Angles-Only Navigation and Pose Estimation For
Autonomous Orbital Rendezvous”, AIAA/AAS GN&C Conference, Keystone, CO,
August 2006.
N. Stastny, D. Geller, “Autonomous Optical Navigation at Jupiter: A Linear Covariance
Analysis”, AIAA/AAS GN&C Conference, Keystone, CO, August 2006.
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D. Geller, “Analysis of the Relative Attitude Estimation and Control Problem for Satellite
Inspection and Orbital Rendezvous”, AAS Guidance and Control Conference,
Breckenridge, February 2006.
D. Geller, “Linear Covariance Techniques for Orbital Rendezvous Analysis and
Autonomous Onboard Mission Planning”, AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control
Conference, San Francisco, August 2005.
D. Geller, A. Vaughan, “An Analysis Plan for the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter
Rendezvous and Autonomous Navigation Flight Experiment”, AAS 05-214, presented at
the AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Conference, Copper Mountain, CO, 2005.
D. Woffinden, D. Geller, T. Mosher, J. Kwong “On-Orbit Satellite Rendezvous
Inspection”, presented at the AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Conference, Copper
Mountain, CO, 2005.
T. Brand, L. Fuhrman, D. Geller, P. Hattis, S. Paschall, Y. C. Tao, “GN&C Technology
Needed to Achieve Pinpoint Landing Accuracy at Mars”, Paper presented at the 2004
AIAA GN&C Conference, Providence, RI, August 2004.
J. E. Riedel, J. Guinn, M. Delpech, J. B., Dubois, D. Geller, P. Kachmar, “A Combined
Open—Loop and Autonomous Search and Rendezvous Navigation System for the
CNES/NASA Mars Premier Orbiter”, AAS 03-012 presented at the 26th Annual AAS
Guidance and Control Conference, Breckenridge Co, February, 2003.
R. J. Chari, D. K. Geller, H. L. Norris, C. N. D’Souza, T. J. Brand, “Autonomous Orbital
Rendezvous Using Angles-Only Navigation”, AAS 01-479 presented at the 2001
AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Conference, Quebec City, Canada, August 2001.
G. Carman, D. Ives, D. Geller, “Apollo-Derived Mars Precision Lander Guidance”,
AIAA 98-4570 presented at the AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference,
Boston, August, 1998.
D. Geller, J. Weisheit, “Classical Electron-Ion Scattering in Strongly Magnetized
Plasmas”, Presented at the AIP Atomic Processes in Plasmas Conference, San Francisco,
January, 1996.
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS:
2010
2010
2010
2008
2007
Summer Faculty Fellowship Program, Air Force Research Lab
Teaching Excellence Award, College of Engineering, Utah State U.
Outstanding Teacher Award, MAE, Utah State U.
Outstanding Advisor Award, MAE, Utah State U.
Outstanding Teacher Award, MAE, Utah State U.
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1997
1996
1996
1993-1997
1987-1992
The Rice University William F. Marlar Outstanding Scholar Award
NASA/Texas Space Grant Consortium Fellowship
Outstanding Student Paper/Poster Award, AIP Atomic Processes in
Plasmas Conference, San Francisco
Rice University Fellowship
4 NASA/Johnson Space Center Outstanding Performance Awards
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