DINORekit
Orekit-powered tools for orbit determination, precision propagation, maneuver calibration, and TLE generation for LEO missions.
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.
GNC Researcher & Navigation Engineer at INPE · 27 peer-review activities · 13 ORCID works
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.
Awarded for outstanding contributions to Astrodynamics and Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) in Brazil.
European Commission distinction for the project "CubeSats in Autonomy for Asteroid Exploration with an Orbital Rapid Assessment" (Politecnico di Milano, Prof. Francesco Topputo).
Principal investigator / researcher grant at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
Competitive postdoctoral grant (~7% success rate) at UNIFESP.
Full doctoral fellowship (~23% success rate) at INPE.
Directly responsible for mission-critical orbit determination, orbital maneuvers, telemetry analysis, pass predictions, and sensor calibration for Brazil's operational satellites:
Autonomous path-following, robust feedback control, optical and landmark navigation for close-proximity operations around small bodies and asteroids.
Formulation of the Circular Restricted n-Body Problem (CRNBP), Bicircular Restricted Four-Body Problem (BCR4BP), and high-precision gravity-assist dynamics.
Trajectory design and deflection predictions for Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) including (99942) Apophis, triple asteroid 2001 SN263, and shallow-encounter dynamics.
Bridging legacy VAX/DEC Fortran code to modern C++/Python, automating orbital mechanics pipelines, and adopting Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) standards.
Historiographical research into early astronautical societies, the genesis of space institutions, and the internationalist roots of space exploration in Brazil.
Simulating 6-DOF spacecraft dynamics with coupled attitude-orbit hardware-in-the-loop pipelines using Julia, Python, and Blender-rendered synthetic cameras.
Orekit-powered tools for orbit determination, precision propagation, maneuver calibration, and TLE generation for LEO missions.
Automation connecting legacy software, numerical routines, telemetry analysis, pass prediction, and CCSDS workflows.
Coupled six-degree-of-freedom orbit-attitude simulations with computer vision and synthetic camera pipelines for asteroid missions.
Additional project information, code repositories, and technical documentation will be added here.
@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}
}
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}
}
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}
}
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}
}
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}
}
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}
}
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}
}
Romanian Astronomical Journal, 31(2), 241–255, 2021.
@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}
}
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}
}
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}
}
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}
}
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}
}
73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2022), Paris, France.
European Control Conference (ECC 2021), IEEE Xplore, 2021.
31st AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, 2021.
70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2019), Washington, D.C., USA.
69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2018), Bremen, Germany.
24th ABCM International Congress of Mechanical Engineering (COBEM 2017), Curitiba, Brazil.
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.
Classical orbital mechanics: the Two-Body Problem, orbital elements representation, Kepler's equation solution techniques, coordinate transformations, and introductory orbital perturbations.
Core astrodynamics principles: orbital maneuvers, Hohmann and bi-elliptic transfers, interplanetary mission design, and patched-conics formulations.
End-to-end space mission design: payload requirements, launch vehicle selection, orbital lifetime analysis, ground segment architecture, and GNC integration.
Multivariable calculus, partial derivatives, double and triple integrals, line and surface integrals, and vector field theorems.
Active manuscript reviewer for leading international journals in aerospace engineering, guidance, control, and celestial mechanics:
Office 125, CCS Building
Satellite Control Center (CCS) · INPE
Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, Jardim da Granja
São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil 12227-010
Available upon request
LinkedIn: rodolfobnegri
Google Scholar: profile
ORCID: 0000-0002-8196-8579
WoS: AAE-5851-2019
Lattes: CNPq
profile
Download the official PDF document covering complete academic records, project grants, and research trajectories.