SpaceTech 2026 Lightning Talks – Eric Elias

Why It Matters

Accurate, low‑power navigation enables commercial spacecraft to safely service, refuel, or de‑orbit objects, directly supporting the emerging space‑sustainability market.

Key Takeaways

• Visible cameras fail during eclipse; thermal imaging remains reliable
• Fusion of visible and thermal images improves navigation accuracy tenfold
• Lidar offers robustness but is bulky and power‑hungry for small spacecraft
• Silhouette matching from thermal data can further reduce pose estimation errors
• Multi‑spectral sensing is essential for on‑orbit servicing and debris removal

Summary

Eric Elias, a second‑year aerospace controls graduate, presented his research on navigating around unknown space objects by fusing visible‑light and thermal imagery. He highlighted the problem of eclipse periods in low‑Earth orbit, which can obscure a target for up to 40 % of each pass.

Traditional visual navigation relies on high‑contrast feature tracking, but during eclipse the feature map disappears, causing large pose‑estimation errors. Lidar can see in darkness but is too bulky and power‑intensive for many small spacecraft. A thermal camera, while illumination‑independent, suffers from low resolution and noise. By combining the two modalities, the fused image retains the visible camera’s texture and resolution while inheriting the thermal sensor’s robustness.

Simulation of six realistic orbital scenarios showed the fused approach reduced average position error by nearly an order of magnitude compared with either sensor alone. Elias also demonstrated that extracting silhouettes from thermal frames and matching them across time can further tighten pose estimates, a technique he is currently quantifying.

The work points to a viable, low‑mass solution for autonomous navigation on platforms performing on‑orbit servicing, active debris removal, or deep‑space exploration. Multi‑spectral sensing could become a standard payload for maintaining a clean and sustainable orbital environment.

Original Description

Eric Elias, SM student