报告题目：Spacecraft Swarm for Tracking and Enclosing Space Targets in Active Space Debris Removal
报告人：Zheng H. Zhu Professor and Tier I York Research Chair in Space Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University
Abstract: Autonomous active debris removal is increasingly critical to ensuring the long-term sustainability, safety, and accessibility of space activities. This presentation introduces a novel framework that employs a swarm of small, resource-limited spacecraft, such as CubeSats and nanosatellites, instead of relying on a single complex robotic spacecraft platform for the capture and deorbit of tumbling, noncooperative debris. Inspired by the collective behaviors observed in ant colonies and bird flocks, the proposed approach uses a decentralized, behavior-based control architecture that enables spacecraft swarms to self-organize, explore the target environment, and collaboratively encapsulate debris without centralized coordination. Individual agents apply aggregation and flocking behaviors to converge toward the target, while anti-flocking mechanisms regulate inter-spacecraft spacing to achieve broad surface coverage and support shape-adaptive capture. The agents in the swarm use limited onboard memory and local inter-agent communication to coordinate their actions using shared observations of debris landmarks, enabling synchronized and cooperative capture despite restricted sensing and computational resources. The resulting leaderless and interchangeable multi-agent architecture improves robustness to individual spacecraft failures, enhances scalability to different debris sizes and geometries, and reduces mission cost and system complexity. This swarm-based paradigm offers a resilient and scalable alternative for future active debris removal and contributes to the development of sustainable space activities.
Biography: Prof. Zheng Hong (George) Zhu is a Professor and Tier 1 York Research Chair in Space Robotics and AI at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering. He is founding Director of the Manufacturing Technology Entrepreneurship Centre and Space Engineering Design Laboratory, and previously served as Academic Director of York’s Research Commons and Chair of Mechanical Engineering. A leading scholar in astronautics, Prof. Zhu specializes in spacecraft dynamics and control, space robotics, debris mitigation, and space-tether technologies. He has published more than 450 peer-reviewed papers, with over 9,200 citations and an H-index of 53. He has led major interdisciplinary programs, including 2 CubeSat missions and in-space manufacturing initiatives, attracting approximately $16 million in research funding. Prof. Zhu is an Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics, Fellow of multiple engineering academies and societies,including Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE),Editor-in-Chief of Acta Astronautica.
报告时间：2026年11月3日（星期二） 上午9：00
报告地点：吉林大学正新楼三楼报告厅
