// RESEARCH

Research & Publications

Spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control engineer with research spanning attitude determination and control, state estimation, autonomous mission planning, and machine learning for aerospace. Below is a complete record of my publications, patents, and research positions.

1st place, Frank J. Redd Student Competition, Small Satellite Conference 2022

Research Interests

Research Positions

Graduate Researcher

Sep 2020 - Sep 2022

UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory, University of Toronto

Advisor: Dr. Robert E. Zee

  • Automated ADCS hardware testing (rate sensors, magnetometers, magnetorquers, fine sun sensors, reaction wheels) across 16 satellites in the HawkEye 360 constellation, cutting test time by 63% through Python tooling and repeatable verification methods.
  • Developed a novel Earth horizon sensor from a repurposed spacecraft inspection camera, achieving 1 degree RMSE nadir-vector estimation and validating against STK EOIR simulation and on-orbit NorSat-2 imagery.
  • Created an in-situ on-orbit inertia tensor estimation method, validated in MATLAB/Simulink and implemented as reaction-wheel attitude commands in C++ flight code for the HawkEye 360 mission.
  • Built a model-based solar power generation analysis tool in Python and STK for NASA MSFC StarBurst, modeling photovoltaic self-shadowing across 135+ attitude and orbital cases.

Undergraduate Researcher

Mar 2019 - Oct 2020

Intelligent Control, Analysis & Modeling (iCAM) Laboratory, University of Windsor

Advisor: Dr. Afshin Rahimi

  • Developed a novel ensemble machine learning algorithm for fault detection and isolation in satellite reaction wheels using scikit-learn, TensorFlow, and Keras.
  • Researched time-series feature extraction, establishing dataset-generation best practices for ML-based fault diagnosis of spacecraft systems.
  • Co-authored peer-reviewed papers and conference presentations on intelligent control and fault diagnosis for spacecraft.

Master’s Thesis

  1. Saadat, A. (2022). Design and Test Optimizations for Spacecraft Attitude Determination and Control Subsystems. M.A.Sc. Thesis, University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Space Flight Laboratory.

    TSpace ↗

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

  1. Rahimi, A., & Saadat, A. (2020). Fault isolation of reaction wheels onboard three-axis controlled in-orbit satellite using ensemble machine learning. Aerospace Systems, 3(2), 119-126.

    DOI ↗ Project Page →

Conference Proceedings & Presentations

  1. Saadat, A., Bhosale, V., Bhardwaj, K., & Gavrilovska, A. (2027). An Adaptive Telemetry Probe for Resource-Constrained Spacecraft Using F Prime. AIAA SciTech Forum 2027, Orlando, FL.

    Project Page → ★ Submitted

  2. Saadat, A., Chen, V., & Austin, J. (2025). End-to-End Autonomous Mission Planning and Spacecraft Attitude Optimization for Resident Space Object Imaging. Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference 2025, Maui, HI.

    AMOS ↗Paper ↗Poster ↗ Project Page →

  3. Saadat, A. (2022). Attitude Determination with Self-Inspection Cameras Repurposed as Earth Horizon Sensors. Frank J. Redd Student Competition, Small Satellite Conference 2022, Utah State University.

    Paper ↗ Project Page → ★ 1st Place Paper & Presentation

  4. Saadat, A. (2022). On-Orbit Spacecraft Inertia Tensor Estimation. International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2022, Paris, France.

    Paper ↗ Project Page → ★ CSA Canadian delegate selection

  5. Folami, F. O., Rahimi, A., & Saadat, A. (2020). Fault Isolation of Reaction Wheels On-board 3-Axis Controlled In-Orbit Satellite Using Machine Learning Techniques. IAC-20.B4.9-GTS.5.10, International Astronautical Congress 2020, Dubai (Online), UAE.

    Paper ↗ Project Page →

  6. Rahimi, A., & Saadat, A. (2019). Fault isolation of reaction wheels on-board 3-axis controlled in-orbit satellite using ensemble machine learning techniques. International Conference on Aerospace System Science and Engineering (ICASSE), Toronto, ON.

    Paper ↗ Project Page →

Technical Reports

  1. Saadat, A., Weeratunga, M., Hasan, M., & Mehroke, A. (2025). Reconstructing ESA Time-Series Trojans via Fourier-Regularized Deep Learning. Technical Report, CS-7643 Deep Learning, Georgia Institute of Technology.

    Paper ↗

  2. Saadat, A. (2025). Real-Time Thermospheric Density Forecasting with a Metric-Aligned BiGRU-Attention Network for Space Situational Awareness. Technical Report, MIT ARCLab STORM-AI Competition.

    Paper ↗ Project Page →

Patents

  1. Saadat, A., & Usui, K. (2020). Method and Computing System for Estimating Parameter for Robot Operation.

    Google Patents ↗ ★ USA (Active) · Japan (Active) · China (Pending)

  2. Saadat, A., & Usui, K. (2020). Method and Computing System for Determining a Value of an Error Parameter Indicative of Quality of Robot Calibration.

    Google Patents ↗ ★ USA (Active) · Japan (Active) · China (Pending)

Poster Presentations

  1. Saadat, A., Chen, V., & Austin, J. (2025). End-to-End Autonomous Mission Planning and Spacecraft Attitude Optimization for Resident Space Object Imaging. AMOS Conference 2025, Maui, HI.

  2. Saadat, A. (2019). CryoRoute: Generating Globally-Optimized Naval Routes in the Arctic Ocean. UWillDiscover Conference, University of Windsor, ON.

    Project Page →

  3. Saadat, A. (2019). CryoRoute: Generating Globally-Optimized Naval Routes in the Arctic Ocean. ESA Atlantic from Space Workshop, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK.

    Project Page →

Academic Service

  • Judge, AIAA Region VI Student Conference (2025)
  • Programs Chair, AIAA Orange County Section (2024 to present)