Bio


Nick Delurgio is a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. Nick previously received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, where he developed in interest in Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) for Aerospace applications. At Stanford, Nick is pursuing his interest in GNC through Distributed Space Systems (DSS) research, advised by Professor Simone D'Amico. Nick's research involves the development of dynamics, guidance, and control strategies for RPOD missions in eccentric orbits, as well as creating reduced order modeling techniques to simplify formation flying mission design.

Honors & Awards


  • Magna Cum Laude, University of Texas at Austin (May 2022)
  • Russell U. Smith Family Endowed Scholarship, Russell U. Smith Family (2020-2021)
  • William F. McCombs Scholarship in Aerospace Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering (2019-2020)

Professional Affiliations and Activities


  • Student Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2022 - Present)

Education & Certifications


  • Master of Science, Stanford University, Mechanical Engineering (2024)
  • Bachelor of Science, University of Texas at Austin, Aerospace Engineering (2022)

Personal Interests


- Space Exploration
- Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC)
- Trajectory Design
- Sensor Fusion/State Estimation
- Distributed Space Systems
- Convex Optimization

Projects


  • AIAA Student Space Design Competition, University of Texas at Austin (1/1/2022 - 5/1/2022)

    Collaborated with peers from UT Austin on the design of a mission to the moons of Mars - Phobos and Deimos. Personally designed our vehicle's GNC system as well as the mission trajectory and ConOps. Managed the assembly and integration of our vehicle model.

    Location

    Austin, Texas

    Collaborators

    • Adam Nokes, Lecturer, University of Texas at Austin

    For More Information:

  • Space Force Aerospace Technology Gap Assessment, Center for Space Research - University of Texas at Austin (January 2021 - August 2022)

    Worked with Dr. Srinivas Bettadpur and Dr. Barbara Craig to research the technology gaps prohibiting the United States Space Force from meeting its objectives. Identified and informed the USSF of research areas of high importance in achieving its goals. Presented our work to Dr. Joel Mozer, Chief Scientist of the USSF.

    Location

    Austin, TX

    Collaborators

    • Dr. Srinivas Bettadpur, Director, Center for Space Research
    • Dr. Barbara Craig, Research Engineer, Center for Space Research

    For More Information:

  • Closed-Form Modeling and Control of Spacecraft Swarms in Eccentric Orbits, Space Rendezvous Laboratory (January 1, 2023 - Present)

    Spacecraft formation-flying and swarm missions have received great attention in the space sector over the past few decades. Some modern multi-satellite missions require the use of an eccentric orbit to access varying altitudes, new ground tracks, and a lower perturbation environment. The use of a distributed mission architecture becomes more challenging in eccentric orbits due to the increased complexity of relative motion dynamics, and important mission considerations such as passive safety, differential perturbation modeling, and efficient impulsive control become more difficult to resolve in closed-form. This paper introduces a new state representation denoted Eccentric Relative Orbit Elements (EROE) to address these issues. The EROE provide an insightful geometric tie into relative position and velocity in eccentric orbits, revealing closed-form expressions for passive safety. Leveraging the fact that EROE are functions of orbit elements, state transition matrices including differential J2, solar radiation pressure, and third body perturbations are also presented. Finally, this paper maps the EROE state onto an existing impulsive control methodology to compute maneuver schemes in closed-form. Using the advantages provided by the chosen state representation, design and maintenance strategies are proposed for swarms, all of which require little computational effort. These results are applied to the mission design and simulation of a conceptual three-spacecraft swarm mission denoted the Mars Gravity Experiment. Simulation results demonstrate over two orders of magnitude improved positional accuracy over short time periods when using the STMs provided in this paper compared to Yamanaka-Ankersen, and delta-v budgeting is accurate within 0.5% of nonlinear simulation.

    Location

    Stanford, CA

    Collaborators

    • Simone D'Amico, Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and, by courtesy, of Geophysics, Space Rendezvous Lab

    For More Information:

  • Optimal Control for Minimum-Fuel Pinpoint Landing, Stanford University (January 1, 2023 - 6/19/2023)

    Developed and implemented trajectory optimization algorithms for the rocket landing problem. Analyzed the performance of MPC and LQR tracking controllers.

    Location

    Stanford, CA

    Collaborators

    • Devin Ardeshna, MS Student, Stanford University
    • Pol Huc, MS Student, Stanford University

    For More Information:

Work Experience


  • Spacecraft GNC Intern, Rocket Lab USA (May 2021 - August 2022)

    Developed Attitude, Precession, and Nutation controllers for several spacecraft. Created high-fidelity simulations for satellites using Systems Tool Kit (STK), and programmed a Monte Carlo framework used for statistical analysis of spacecraft missions.

    Location

    Littleton, Colorado

  • Research Assistant, Autonomous Systems Group - University of Texas at Austin (August 2021 - May 2022)

    Developed a Convex Model Predictive Control algorithm used by a chaser robot to intercept a moving ground target. Programmed and implemented a PID control algorithms on TurtleBots to assist in stochastic motion planning research.

    Location

    Austin, Texas

  • GNC Principal Engineer, Texas Rocket Engineering Lab - University of Texas at Austin (February 2020 - January 2022)

    Collaborated on the development of a liquid bi-propellant launch vehicle aiming to reach 100 km. Programmed the lab’s 6DOF flight simulation which is used for Monte Carlo analysis, HIL testing, and GNC system design. Designed a 3-axis attitude controller for our Fin Actuation Control System, which uses a linear program to optimize actuator allocation. Developed the architecture for the vehicle’s navigation system and state estimation algorithm, and oversaw extensive IMU testing and analysis.

    Location

    Austin, TX

  • Researcher, Space Rendezvous Laboratory (October 1, 2022)

    Introduced new Relative Orbit Elements and their corresponding dynamical models for RPOD missions in eccentric orbits. Developed formation guidance and control strategies for collision avoidance guarantees in eccentric orbits. Designed the relative trajectory for a distributed space telescope mission.

    Location

    Stanford, CA