Flight Dynamics · GNC · Spacecraft Autonomy

Hi, I'm Rodolfo B. Negri.

I am a Flight Dynamics & GNC Engineer at the Satellite Control Center (CCS) of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

I build mission-critical software and algorithms that connect astrodynamics research to operational spacecraft. My work spans Orekit-based orbit determination and propagation, maneuver design, CCSDS toolchains, autonomous navigation, and asteroid mission design.

Research identity

GNC Researcher & Navigation Engineer at INPE · 27 peer-review activities · 13 ORCID works

5
Active Satellites Managed (SCD-1, SCD-2, CBERS-4/4A, AMZ-1)
14+
Years across flight dynamics, GNC research, and space software
2
Prestigious Awards (Wagner Sessin & MSCA Seal of Excellence)
8× Faster
Satellite routine flight dynamics procedures (12h → 1.5h)
Background & Track Record

About & Experience

I am a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer and GNC researcher with 14+ years of experience in spacecraft software, orbital mechanics, and autonomous systems. I currently lead the development of DINORekit, an Orekit-powered framework for orbit determination, high-precision propagation, maneuver calibration, and TLE generation for LEO missions at INPE's Satellite Control Center.

I hold a Ph.D. and a Master's in Space Engineering and Technology from INPE, a Bachelor's in Aeronautical Mechanical Engineering from UNIFEI, and completed an aerospace engineering exchange at George Washington University. I welcome conversations about research collaborations, mission operations, flight dynamics software, GNC, and aerospace engineering opportunities.

Professional Positions

Sep 2025 – Present

GNC Researcher & Flight Dynamics Engineer

National Institute for Space Research (INPE) · Satellite Control Center (CCS)
  • Operational Fleet Management: Shared flight dynamics responsibilities across 5 Earth-orbiting satellites: SCD-1, SCD-2, CBERS-4, CBERS-4A, and AMAZÔNIA-1 (AMZ-1), including orbit determination, maneuver planning, and sensor calibration.
  • Anomaly Resolution: Successfully resolved a 13-year-old LEO satellite anomaly in pass prediction through in-depth orbital analysis.
  • Systems Modernization: Reverse-engineered legacy VAX/DEC binary software to modern 64-bit GNU Linux environments and implemented CCSDS-compliant automated toolchains in C++ and Python.
  • Software Engineering: Modernized mission-critical Fortran codebases using CMake build systems, Doxygen standards, and GCC compatibility.
  • Policy & Leadership: Elected Member of the Advisory Committee for the General Coordination of Infrastructure and Applied Research (CGIP, 2025–2027), contributing to Science & Technology policy formulation.
Apr 2022 – May 2025

Postdoctoral Researcher

Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) · ICT
Project: Autonomous Spacecraft in Asteroid Missions (Supervisor: Dr. Rodolpho Vilhena de Moraes). Developed 6-DOF coupled orbit-attitude dynamics, implemented computer vision-based navigation using OpenCV in C++, and engineered multi-language simulation pipelines combining Julia, Python, Fortran, and Blender for realistic optical camera rendering.
Jun 2015 – Aug 2015

Visiting Student Researcher

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) · Pasadena, CA, USA
Astrobiology Group (Mentor: Dr. Steven Vance). Conducted thermal-orbital modeling to determine Ganymede's internal structure and subsurface ocean profile.

Academic Education

2018 – 2022

Ph.D. in Space Technology and Engineering

National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil
Thesis: "Study on Dynamics, Guidance, Navigation, and Control Applied to Asteroid Deflection Missions."
Advisor: Prof. Antônio Fernando Bertachini de Almeida Prado.
Supported by a highly competitive FAPESP Doctoral Fellowship.
2017 – 2018

M.S.E. in Space Technology and Engineering

National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil
Thesis: "Swing-by Dynamics: Analysis of the Limitations of the Patched-conics Approximation."
Advisor: Prof. Antônio Fernando Bertachini de Almeida Prado.
2011 – 2016

B.S.E. in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI), Brazil
Includes academic exchange in Aerospace Engineering at The George Washington University (GWU), Washington, DC (2014–2015) via CAPES Science Without Borders.

Awards & Distinctions

2024

Wagner Sessin Prize

Awarded for outstanding contributions to Astrodynamics and Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) in Brazil.

2023

Seal of Excellence · Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

European Commission distinction for the project "CubeSats in Autonomy for Asteroid Exploration with an Orbital Rapid Assessment" (Politecnico di Milano, Prof. Francesco Topputo).

Fellowships & Research Grants

2025 – 2027

CNPq Universal Call for Proposals

Principal investigator / researcher grant at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

2022 – 2025

FAPESP Postdoctoral Fellowship

Competitive postdoctoral grant (~7% success rate) at UNIFESP.

2018 – 2022

FAPESP Doctoral Fellowship

Full doctoral fellowship (~23% success rate) at INPE.

Space Operations

Satellite Operations

Operational Flight Dynamics Fleet at CCS / INPE

Directly responsible for mission-critical orbit determination, orbital maneuvers, telemetry analysis, pass predictions, and sensor calibration for Brazil's operational satellites:

SCD-1 (Data Collection Satellite 1)
SCD-2 (Data Collection Satellite 2)
CBERS-4 (China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite)
CBERS-4A (Advanced Earth Observation)
AMAZÔNIA-1 (AMZ-1) (1st Brazilian Multi-Mission Platform)
Scientific Focus

Research Areas

Guidance, Navigation, & Control (GNC)

Autonomous path-following, robust feedback control, optical and landmark navigation for close-proximity operations around small bodies and asteroids.

Robust Control Path Following Vision-Based Nav

Astrodynamics & n-Body Problems

Formulation of the Circular Restricted n-Body Problem (CRNBP), Bicircular Restricted Four-Body Problem (BCR4BP), and high-precision gravity-assist dynamics.

CRNBP Gravity Assists Trajectory Optimization

Small-Body Missions & Planetary Defense

Trajectory design and deflection predictions for Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) including (99942) Apophis, triple asteroid 2001 SN263, and shallow-encounter dynamics.

Apophis 2001 SN263 Asteroid Deflection

Flight Software & Systems Modernization

Bridging legacy VAX/DEC Fortran code to modern C++/Python, automating orbital mechanics pipelines, and adopting Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) standards.

C++20 Python CMake CCSDS

History of Spaceflight & Astronautics

Historiographical research into early astronautical societies, the genesis of space institutions, and the internationalist roots of space exploration in Brazil.

History of Science SIB (1953) GOCNAE / INPE

Autonomous Spacecraft & Simulation

Simulating 6-DOF spacecraft dynamics with coupled attitude-orbit hardware-in-the-loop pipelines using Julia, Python, and Blender-rendered synthetic cameras.

6-DOF Julia OpenCV Blender
Engineering Portfolio

Selected Projects

Active development

DINORekit

Orekit-powered tools for orbit determination, precision propagation, maneuver calibration, and TLE generation for LEO missions.

OrekitJavaFlight Dynamics
Operational systems

CCS Flight Dynamics Toolchain

Automation connecting legacy software, numerical routines, telemetry analysis, pass prediction, and CCSDS workflows.

CCSDSC++Python
Research platform

Autonomous Spacecraft Simulation

Coupled six-degree-of-freedom orbit-attitude simulations with computer vision and synthetic camera pipelines for asteroid missions.

JuliaOpenCVBlender
Coming soon

Project details

Additional project information, code repositories, and technical documentation will be added here.

TBD
Scholarly Output & Links

Publications

2026
Sociedade Interplanetária Brasileira: O Internacionalismo da Exploração Espacial no Brasil

Negri, R. B.

Revista Brasileira de História da Ciência, 19(1), 2026.

@article{negri2026sib,
  title={Sociedade Interplanet{\'a}ria Brasileira: O Internacionalismo da Explora{\c{c}}{\~a}o Espacial no Brasil},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista},
  journal={Revista Brasileira de Hist{\'o}ria da Ci{\^e}ncia},
  volume={19},
  number={1},
  year={2026},
  doi={10.53727/rbhc.v19i1.1189}
}
2024
Shallow Encounters' Impact on Asteroid Deflection Prediction and Implications on Trajectory Design

Negri, R. B., & Prado, A. F.

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (JGCD), 47(7), 1341–1358, 2024.

@article{negri2024shallow,
  title={Shallow Encounters' Impact on Asteroid Deflection Prediction and Implications on Trajectory Design},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista and Prado, Antonio Fernando},
  journal={Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics},
  volume={47},
  number={7},
  pages={1341--1358},
  year={2024},
  publisher={American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics},
    doi={10.2514/1.G007890}
}
2024
Autonomous Rapid Exploration in Close-Proximity of Asteroids

Negri, R. B., Prado, A. F., Chagas, R. A., & Moraes, R. V.

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (JGCD), 47(5), 914–933, 2024.

@article{negri2024autonomous,
  title={Autonomous Rapid Exploration in Close-Proximity of Asteroids},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista and Prado, Antonio Fernando and Chagas, Ronilson A and Moraes, Rodolpho Vilhena de},
  journal={Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics},
  volume={47},
  number={5},
  pages={914--933},
  year={2024},
    doi={10.2514/1.G007186}
}
2024
Robust Path-Following for Keplerian Orbits

Negri, R. B., & de Prado, A. F. B.

Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, 46(8), 500, 2024.

@article{negri2024robust,
  title={Robust path-following for Keplerian orbits},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista and de Prado, Antonio Fernando Bertachini},
  journal={Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering},
  volume={46},
  number={8},
  pages={500},
  year={2024},
    doi={10.1007/s40430-024-05031-5}
}
2022
Autonomous and Robust Orbit-Keeping for Small-Body Missions

Negri, R. B., & Prado, A. F. B. A.

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (JGCD), 45(3), 1357–1365, 2022.

@article{negri2022orbitkeeping,
  title={Autonomous and Robust Orbit-Keeping for Small-Body Missions},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista and Prado, Antonio Fernando Bertachini de Almeida},
  journal={Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics},
  volume={45},
  number={3},
  pages={1357--1365},
  year={2022},
    doi={10.2514/1.G005863}
}
2022
Circular Restricted n-Body Problem

Negri, R. B., & Prado, A. F. B. A.

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (JGCD), 45(7), 587–598, 2022.

@article{negri2022crnbp,
  title={Circular Restricted n-Body Problem},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista and Prado, Antonio Fernando Bertachini de Almeida},
  journal={Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics},
  volume={45},
  number={7},
  pages={587--598},
  year={2022},
    doi={10.2514/1.G006430}
}
2021
First Approximation for Spacecraft Motion Relative to (99942) Apophis

Aljbaae, S., Sanchez, D. M., Prado, A. F. B. A., Souchay, J., Terra, M. O., Negri, R. B., & Marchi, L.

Romanian Astronomical Journal, 31(2), 241–255, 2021.

View PDF
@article{aljbaae2021apophis,
  title={First Approximation for Spacecraft Motion Relative to (99942) Apophis},
  author={Aljbaae, Safwan and Sanchez, Diogo M and Prado, Antonio FBA and Souchay, Jean and Terra, Marco O and Negri, Rodolfo B and Marchi, Luis},
  journal={Romanian Astronomical Journal},
  volume={31},
  pages={241--255},
  year={2021}
}
2020
A Historical Review of the Theory of Gravity-Assists in the Pre-Spaceflight Era

Negri, R. B., & de Almeida Prado, A. F. B.

Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, 42(8), 406, 2020.

@article{negri2020historical,
  title={A historical review of the theory of gravity-assists in the pre-spaceflight era},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista and de Almeida Prado, Antonio Fernando Bertachini},
  journal={Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering},
  volume={42},
  number={8},
  pages={406},
  year={2020},
  doi={10.1007/s40430-020-02489-x}
}
2020
Generalizing the Bicircular Restricted Four-Body Problem

Negri, R. B., & Prado, A. F.

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (JGCD), 43(6), 1173–1179, 2020.

@article{negri2020bcr4bp,
  title={Generalizing the Bicircular Restricted Four-Body Problem},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista and Prado, Antonio Fernando},
  journal={Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics},
  volume={43},
  number={6},
  pages={1173--1179},
  year={2020},
    doi={10.2514/1.G004848}
}
2019
Lunar Gravity Assists Using Patched-Conics Approximation, Three and Four-Body Problems

Negri, R. B., Sukhanov, A., & de Almeida Prado, A. F. B.

Advances in Space Research (ASR), 64(1), 42–63, 2019.

@article{negri2019lunar,
  title={Lunar gravity assists using patched-conics approximation, three and four-body problems},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista and Sukhanov, Alexander and de Almeida Prado, Antonio Fernando Bertachini},
  journal={Advances in Space Research},
  volume={64},
  number={1},
  pages={42--63},
  year={2019},
    doi={10.1016/j.asr.2019.04.002}
}
2017
Studying the Errors in the Estimation of the Variation of Energy by the "Patched-Conics" Model in the Three-Dimensional Swing-By

Negri, R. B., de Almeida Prado, A. F. B., & Sukhanov, A.

Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy (CMDA), 129(3), 269–284, 2017.

@article{negri2017patchedconics,
  title={Studying the errors in the estimation of the variation of energy by the ``patched-conics'' model in the three-dimensional swing-by},
  author={Negri, Rodolfo Batista and de Almeida Prado, Antonio Fernando Bertachini and Sukhanov, Alexander},
  journal={Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy},
  volume={129},
  number={3},
  pages={269--284},
  year={2017},
    doi={10.1007/s10569-017-9779-3}
}
2022
Six DOF Analysis for Asteroid Autonomous Exploration

Negri, R. B., Prado, A. F., Chagas, R. A. J., Moraes, R. V.

73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2022), Paris, France.

2019
Hovering Control of a Spacecraft in a Binary Asteroid

Negri, R. B., & Prado, A. F.

70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2019), Washington, D.C., USA.

2018
Mapping Trajectories of an Asteroid That is Deflected by a Collision

Negri, R. B., Sarli, B., & Prado, A. F.

69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2018), Bremen, Germany.

Academic Instruction & Community

Teaching & Service

University Courses

Upcoming / Current Course

Navegação de Espaçonaves (Spacecraft Navigation)

National Institute for Space Research (INPE) · Postgraduate Program (ETE/DMC)

Comprehensive graduate course on modern spacecraft navigation methodologies: orbit determination, filtering algorithms (Kalman, EKF, UKF), optical navigation in close-proximity exploration, celestial navigation, and sensor processing architectures.

Taught Course

Mecânica Celeste I (Celestial Mechanics I)

Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) · São José dos Campos

Classical orbital mechanics: the Two-Body Problem, orbital elements representation, Kepler's equation solution techniques, coordinate transformations, and introductory orbital perturbations.

Past Course (Aug – Dec 2023)

Fundamentals of Astrodynamics

Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) · São José dos Campos

Core astrodynamics principles: orbital maneuvers, Hohmann and bi-elliptic transfers, interplanetary mission design, and patched-conics formulations.

Past Course (Aug – Oct 2021)

Engineering of Space Missions

National Institute for Space Research (INPE) · São José dos Campos

End-to-end space mission design: payload requirements, launch vehicle selection, orbital lifetime analysis, ground segment architecture, and GNC integration.

Teaching Assistant (Jan – Jun 2020)

Calculus II

São Paulo State University (UNESP) · Guaratinguetá

Multivariable calculus, partial derivatives, double and triple integrals, line and surface integrals, and vector field theorems.

Student Mentoring & Supervision

M.S. Degree Mentoring

  • Shyenne Pinheiro (Master's Student, expected graduation: February 2026). Research on orbital dynamics and trajectory optimization.

Selected Invited Talks & Outreach

Feb 2026

INPE's Coordination of Satellite Tracking, Control and Reception

31st Summer School on Orbital Mechanics and Planetary Sciences · UNESP
Oct 2025

Astrodynamics and GNC Research at INPE

IV Workshop of the Graduate Program in Physics & Astronomy · UNESP
Mar 2025 & Dec 2024

Preliminary Design of Trajectories for Rendezvous with 2001 SN263

UNESP GDOP & XXII Brazilian Colloquium on Orbital Dynamics (CBDO), INPE
Sep 2023

Guidance, Navigation, and Control in Deep Space

INPE Winter Course in Space Technology

Peer Reviewer Service

Active manuscript reviewer for leading international journals in aerospace engineering, guidance, control, and celestial mechanics:

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (AIAA)
Acta Astronautica (Elsevier)
Advances in Space Research (COSPAR/Elsevier)
Celestial Mechanics & Dynamical Astronomy (Springer)
IEEE Trans. on Aerospace & Electronic Systems
Automatica (IFAC/Elsevier)
Astrodynamics (Springer)
Astrophysics and Space Science (Springer)
J. Brazilian Soc. Mechanical Sci. & Eng. (Springer)
European Physical Journal - Special Topics
Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
Int. J. of Mining, Reclamation and Env.
Get in Touch

Contact & Location

Academic & Industry Inquiries

rodolfo.negri@inpe.br
rodolfobnegri@yahoo.com.br

Office & Location

Office 125, CCS Building
Satellite Control Center (CCS) · INPE
Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, Jardim da Granja
São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil 12227-010

Telephone

Available upon request

Digital Profiles

LinkedIn: rodolfobnegri
Google Scholar: profile
ORCID: 0000-0002-8196-8579
WoS: AAE-5851-2019
Lattes: CNPq profile

Looking for my complete Curriculum Vitae?

Download the official PDF document covering complete academic records, project grants, and research trajectories.

Download CV.pdf