Publicaties

Een selectie van artikelen:     

• Heiligers, J., Vergaaij, M., and Ceriotti, M., 2020, End-To-End Trajectory Design for a Solar-Sail-Only Pole-Sitter at Venus, Earth, and Mars, Advances in Space Research, In Press
• Fernandez Mora, A., Heiligers, J.,  2020, Solar-Sail Quasi-Periodic Orbits in the Sun-Earth System, Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 43 (9), pp. 1740-749
• Farrés, A., Heiligers, J., Miguel, N., Road Map to L4/L5 with a Solar Sail, 2019, Journal of Aerospace Science and Technology, Vol. 95
• Heiligers, J., Fernandez, J.M., Stohlman, O.R., Wilkie, W.K. 2019, Trajectory Design for a Solar-Sail Mission to Asteroid 2016 HO3, Astrodynamics, Vol. 3 (3), pp. 231-246
• Heiligers, J., 2018, Homo- and Heteroclinic Connections in the Planar Solar-Sail Earth-Moon Three-Body Problem, Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, doi: 10.3389/fams.2018.00042
• Vergaaij, M. and Heiligers, J., 2018, Time-Optimal Solar Sail Heteroclinic Connections for an Earth-Mars Cycler, Acta Astronautica, Vol. 152, pp. 474-485
• Heiligers, J. and Scheeres, D., 2018, Solar Sail Orbital Motion About Asteroids and Binary Asteroid Systems, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Online, doi: 10.2514/1.G003235
• Heiligers, J., Guerrant, D., and Lawrence, D., 2017, Exploring the Heliogyro’s Superior Orbital Control Capabilities for Solar Sail Halo Orbits, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 40 (10), pp. 2569-2586
• Heiligers, J., Macdonald, M., and Parker, J.S., 2016, Extension of Earth-Moon Libration Point Orbits with Solar Sail Propulsion, Astrophysics and Space Science, 361:241
• Heiligers, J., Mingotti, G., and McInnes, C.R., 2015, Optimal Solar Sail Transfers Between Halo Orbits of Different Sun-Planet Systems, Advances in Space Research, 55 (5), pp. 1405-1421
• Heiligers, J., and McInnes, C.R., 2015, Solar Sail Heliocentric Earth-Following Orbits, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 38 (5), pp. 937-944
• Heiligers, J., Ceriotti, M., McInnes, C. R., and Biggs, J., 2011, Displaced Geostationary Orbit Design Using Hybrid Sail Propulsion, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 34 (6), pp. 1852-1866

Een volledige lijst van artikelen kan hier gevonden worden.

S4ILS project

Solar Sailing for Space Situational Awareness In the Lunar System (S4ILS) will deliver radically new orbits in space by exploiting the potential of solar sailing, an exciting new type of spacecraft propulsion. As a flight-proven technology, a solar sail spacecraft rides on sunlight the way that sailboats ride on the wind. Its renewable attribute makes solar sailing a truly mission enabling technology, which is exploited by S4ILS to further one of the world’s key space priorities: Space Situational Awareness (SSA).

As enabler of diverse products and services that are essential to modern day society (navigation, communication, Earth observation), spaceflight is increasingly and rightfully seen as a crucial part of the global infrastructure; an infrastructure that is extremely vulnerable to threats from space objects and space weather events. Examples are abundant: disrupted GPS signals and satellite communications due to solar storms; the 2009 Iridium/Cosmos satellite collision; and the asteroid that entered Earth’s atmosphere over Russia in February 2013. SSA is therefore at the top of the world’s space agencies’ agendas.

S4ILS’s mission is to contribute to our SSA monitoring capabilities, most notably: how to detect Sun-approaching asteroids that are undetectable from Earth as the Sun’s glare obscures them? Or, how to continuously monitor the auroras to further our understanding of the Sun-Earth connection? To provide timely answers and solutions to these issues, S4ILS will: 

“Deliver, for the first time, radically new solar sail periodic orbits in the Earth-Moon system and exploit these orbits for the benefit of Space Situational Awareness”

Despite being a relatively new form of spacecraft propulsion, solar sail technology is rapidly gaining momentum, building on the successes of recent solar sail missions. The era of solar sail propulsion commenced on the 21st of May 2010 when the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) launched its IKAROS spacecraft. Twenty days into the mission, IKAROS unfurled a 14x14 m2 solar sail that would take the probe on a six-month voyage to Venus. Propelled solely by the solar photons reflecting off the 7.5 mm thin, highly reflective membrane, IKAROS was the first to demonstrate that spacecraft truly could be propelled through space by sunlight.

S4ILS will reap benefits from this technological revolution and develop the capabilities and applications of this elegant and truly exciting field of space propulsion for SSA. Results include, for example, a constellation of two solar sail spacecraft in high-altitude orbits around the Earth for continuous observation of the Polar Regions, allowing close monitoring of the auroras.

S4ILS is a 2.5 year, European funded, Global Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (project number 658645) and is a close collaboration between Delft University of Technology and the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, USA). Dr Heiligers is currently seconded to CU Boulder until January 2017.

• Heiligers, J., Scheeres, D., 2017, Solar Sail Orbital Motion about Asteroids and Binary Asteroid Systems, 27th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, USA
• Heiligers, J., Parker, J.S., and Macdonald, M., 2016, Novel Solar Sail Mission Concepts for High-Latitude Earth and Lunar Observation, AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Long Beach, California, USA 
• Walmsley, M., Heiligers, J., et al., 2016, Optimal Trajectories for Planetary Pole-Sitter Missions, Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 39 (10), pp. 2461-2468
• Heiligers, J., Macdonald, M., and Parker, J.S., 2016, Extension of Earth-Moon Libration Point Orbits with Solar Sail Propulsion, Astrophysics and Space Science, 361:241

Begeleiding

PhD: 

• Livio Carzana, ongoing, "Solar-sail orbital dynamics in the near-Earth environment"
• Andreas Borggräfe (co-supervisor), 2015, “Attitude Dynamics and Shape Control of Reflectivity Modulated Gossamer Spacecraft”

• Gijs Leemans, ongoing, "Global optimisation of planet-centred solar-sail trajectories"
• Jaime Negro Vadillo, ongoing, "Pole-sitter orbits in the elliptic restricted three-body problem"
• Gonzalo Herrero Martinez, 2020, "Solar-sail sub-L1 mission concepts for advanced space weather warning"
• Roderick de Boer, 2020, "Time-optimal transfers between planar solar-sail libration point orbits"
• Olga Ramirez Torralba, 2020, "Ramirez Torralba, O. and Heiligers J., Mission Analysis of Space-Based Telescopes to Detect Impacting Near-Earth Objects, AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, South Lake Tahoe, CA, USA, 2020"
• Fernando Gamez Losada, 2020, "Gamez Losada, F. and Heiligers J., Distant-Circular Solar-Sail Orbits, a New Concept for Polar Observation of the Earth and Moon, AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, South Lake Tahoe, CA, USA, 2020"
• Frederic Schoutetens, 2019, "Photon-sail trajectory optimization in Alpha Centauri using evolutionary neurocontrol"
• Alvaro Fernandez Mora, 2019, "Fernandez, A., Heaton, A.F., and Heiligers, J., 2018, Solar-Sail Transfers from Invariant Objects to L5 Periodic Orbits, 7th International Conference on Astrodynamics Tools and Techniques, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany"
• Daniel Villegas Pinto, 2019, "Villegas Pinto, D., Soldini, S., Tsuda, Y., and Heiligers, J., 2020, Temporary Capture of Asteroid Ejecta into Periodic Orbits: Application to JAXA’s Hayabusa2 Impact Event, AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum, Orlando, Florida, USA"
• Tom van den Oever, 2018, "van den Oever, T.D. and Heiligers, J., 2018, On the Design of Transfers to Solar-Sail Displaced Orbits in the Earth-Moon System, 7th International Conference on Astrodynamics Tools and Techniques, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany"
• Merel Vergaaij, 2018, "Vergaaij, M. and Heiligers, J., 2018, Time-Optimal Solar Sail Heteroclinic Connections for an Earth-Mars Cycler, Acta Astronautica, Vol. 152, pp. 474-485"
• Javier Duran Ventas, 2017
• Julien Palamatti, 2017
• Sander Hiddink, 2014

• Mike Walmsley, 2014, “Planetary pole-sitter spacecraft using hybrid low-thrust propulsion”: Walmsley, M., Heiligers, J., Ceriotti, M., and McInnes, C., 2016, Optimal Trajectories for Planetary Pole-Sitter Missions, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 39 (10), pp. 2461-2468"

Prijzen

• 2014, Women in Aerospace (WIA) - Europe Young Professional Award
• 2013, Special Mention of the Jury, EISC-ESA Space for Sustainability Award met het project “Eyes on the Poles”
• 2013, Best soapbox presentation competition, UK Space Conference, Glasgow, UK: 5-minuten durende 'zeepkist-presentatie' ter promotie van solar sailing
• 2013, Best engineering poster, University Research Day, University of Strathclyde 
• 2012, Postgraduate Ambition Award, Institution of Engineering and Technology
• 2012, Engineering Gold Award - SET for Britain: een prestigieuze postercompetitie, georganiseerd door de UK Parliamentary and Scientific Committee in de House of Commons in Londen, waarbij academici, politici en het algehele publiek bij elkaar gebracht worden om de nieuwste ontwikkelingen op het gebied van wetenschap en techniek tentoon te stellen.
• 2011, Best engineering poster, University Research Day, University of Strathclyde 
• 2010, Best engineering poster, University Research Day, University of Strathclyde 
• 2010, Best student paper award van de British Interplanetary Society op het 61st International Astronautical Congress, Praag, Tsjechië
• 2010, Best poster, Engineering Faculty Research Day, University of Strathclyde
• 2007, Erasmus Student Prize van NUFFIC, de Nederlandse organisatie voor internationalisering in onderwijs, voor mijn stage aan de University of Glasgow, UK
• 2007, Best student paper award van de British Interplanetary Society op het 58th International Astronautical Congress, Hyderabad, India
• 2001, Performance scholarship van TU Delft voor hoge examencijfers op de middelbare school voor Nederlands, Engles, Wiskunde en Natuurkunde

• 2018, Delft Technology Fellowship voor mijn positie als Assistant Professor, TU Delft, Nederland
• 2015, European Commission Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellowship voor een 2.5-jaar Research Fellowship aan de TU Delft, Nederland, en de University of Colorado Boulder, USA
• 2014, Royal Society of Edinburgh J.M. Lessells Travel Scholarship voor een 3-maanden durende samenwerking aan de University of Colorado Boulder, USA
• 2012, Royal Aeronautical Society Aerospace Speakers’ Travel Grant voor het bijwonen van de 22nd AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Charleston, USA
• 2012, Institution of Engineering and Technology Travel Award voor het bijwonen van de 22nd AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Charleston, USA
• 2012, Women In Aerospace Europe Travel Grant voor het bijwonen van de 1st IAA Conference on Dynamics and Control of Space Systems, Porto, Portugal
• 2011, IAC Student Participation Programme van de European Space Agency voor het bijwonen van de 62nd International Astronautical Congress, Kaapstad, Zuid-Afrika
• 2010, British Interplanetary Society Travel Grant voor het bijwonen van de 61st International Astronautical Congress, Praag, Tsjechië
• 2010, Royal Academy of Engineering International Travel Grant voor het bijwonen van de 61st International Astronautical Congress, Praag, Tsjechië
• 2007, Erasmus scholarship voor mijn stage aan de University of Glasgow, UK

Projecten

• Investigations into solar sailing astrodynamics, 2020-ongoing, International agreement with NASA Langley 
• SAILS - Solar Sailing for Space Situational Awareness in the Lunar System (PI), 2015-2018, European Commision Global Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (project nummer 658645)
• Sunjammer (collaborator), 2013-2014, samenwerking met l'Garde Inc. voor de 'preliminary mission analysis for NASA's proposed solar sail technology demonstration mission Sunjammer'
• DLR/ESA Sub-L1 Space Weather Mission Technology Reference Study (collaborator), 2013, internationale samenwerking voor de 'preliminary mission analysis for a sub-L1 space weather mission'
• VISIONSPACE (PhD) - Orbital Dynamics at Extremes of Length-Scale, 2009-2014, European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Investigator Grant
• MoonShot (collaborator), 2008-2009, project met TNO voor een Raman/LIBS instrument voor Maanonderzoek
• European Student Moon Orbiter (ESMO) (intern), 2007, Europees studentenproject voor de 'mission analysis for the phase A feasibility study of ESA's European Student Moon Orbiter mission'

Biografie

Na het behalen van mijn MSc (cum laude) in Aerospace Engineering aan de TU Delft in 2008 heb ik kort als junior project manager bij Science [&] Technology Corporation en TNO gewerkt. Daarna ben ik teruggekeerd naar de academische wereld en heb ik mijn PhD in Aerospace Engineering behaald aan het Advanced Space Concepts Laboratory van de University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, in 2012. Vervolgens ben ik daar gebleven als Research Fellow om het onderzoek op het gebied van ‘Orbital Dynamics of Large Gossamer Spacecraft’ te leiden. In augustus 2015 ben ik teruggegaan naar de TU Delft als Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow en zat ik 1.5 jaar gedetacheerd bij het Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) van de University of Colorado Boulder, USA. Sinds juni 2018 vervul ik een positie als Assistant Professor in de "Astrodynamics & Space Missions" groep van de TU Delft.

Mijn onderzoeksportfolio richt zich op het ontwikkelen van nieuwe ruimtevaartapplicaties door op nieuwe manieren naar orbital dynamics te kijken en door low-thrust voortstuwingstechnieken te gebruiken, voornamelijk solar sailing. Nieuwe applicaties zijn bijvoorbeeld continue observatie van de polen van de Aarde voor klimaatonderzoek, het mogelijk maken van langere waarschuwingstijden voor solar storms en observatie van de Maan en een continue communicatie-link met de achterkant van de Maan ter ondersteuning van een mogelijke toekomstige basis op de Maan.   

Specifieke onderzoeksinteresses zijn astrodynamics, trajectory optimisation, orbital control, low-thrust propulsion, solar sailing and space mission analysis and design.

Voor meer informatie, zie mijn profielen op LinkedIn, ResearchGate en GoogleScholar.

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