Yashwanth Kumar Nakka

I am a Postdoctoral Scholar at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech. I hold a Ph.D. in Space Engineering and Robotics from the California Institute of Technology, where I was advised by Dr. Soon-Jo Chung.

I was a W.M. Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) affiliate from 2018 to 2019.

Earlier, I graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in December 2016 with a thesis M.S. in Aerospace Engineering. My master's thesis was focused on developing and testing control algorithms for precision pointing of spacecraft using flexible solar arrays.

I enjoy playing instrumental arrangements on a classical guitar. When I am not in the lab, you may find me practicing archery, cooking traditional Hyderabadi cuisine, or playing Cricket for Caltech.


Education: 
  • PhD in Space Engineering

Research Interests: 

My research focuses on enabling teams of spacecraft (robots) to autonomously perform complex tasks under uncertainty using tools from information theory, stochastic optimal control, probability theory, convex optimization, machine learning, and nonlinear control theory.



Selected Awards: 
  • Best Student Paper Award at AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, 2021
  • David and Catherine Thompson Graduate Fellowship Fund for Space, 2020
  • Best Paper Award at 11th International Workshop on Satellite Constellations and Formation Flying, 2019
  • Keck Institute of Space Studies Affiliate, 2019
  • Excellent Reviewer Nomination, Journal of Guidance Control and Dynamics, 2018
  • Darryl G. Greenmayer Fellowship Recipient, 2016

Selected Publications: 
  1. Y. K. Nakka, W. Hönig, C. Choi, A. Haravd, A. Rahmani, and Soon-Jo Chung. Informationbased guidance and control architecture for multi-spacecraft on-orbit inspection: Algorithm and experiments. Journal of Guidance Control and Navigation, 2022
  2. Y. K. Nakka and Soon-Jo Chung. Trajectory optimization of chance-constrained nonlinear stochastic systems for motion planning and control. IEEE Transactions on Robotics (Under Review)
  3. Y. K. Nakka, A. Liu, G. Shi, A. Anandkumar, Y. Yue, and S. J. Chung. Chance-constrained trajectory optimization for safe exploration and learning of nonlinear systems. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 6(2):389–396, 2021
  4. Rebecca C Foust, Elena Sorina Lupu, Y. K. Nakka, Soon-Jo Chung, and Fred Y Hadaegh. Autonomous in-orbit satellite assembly from a modular heterogeneous swarm. Acta Astronautica, 2019
  5. Y. K. Nakka, Soon-Jo Chung, James T Allison, Jack B Aldrich, and Oscar S Alvarez-Salazar. Nonlinear attitude control of a spacecraft with distributed actuation of solar arrays. Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 42(3):458–475, 2019
  6. Christian M Chilan, Daniel R Herber, Y. K. Nakka, Soon-Jo Chung, James T Allison, Jack B Aldrich, and Oscar S Alvarez-Salazar. Co-design of strain-actuated solar arrays for spacecraft precision pointing and jitter reduction. AIAA Journal, pages 3180–3195, 2017
Yashwanth Kumar
Address: 
4800 Oak Grove Dr
Pasadena, CA 91109