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Aerospace Vehicle Motion Systems Engineering Lab
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The lab studies new kinds of flying vehicles, such as microsatellites and drones.
AboutAbout the lab
New flying vehicles for the sky and space
The Aerospace Vehicle Motion Systems Engineering Lab studies ultra-small aircraft, as well as microsatellites and space systems.
Aiming to propose flying vehicles with new concepts, such as drones, the lab also studies how birds, insects, and other creatures fly in nature.
In space, the lab explores ways to turn the effects of magnetic fields and space plasma, which act more strongly on smaller satellites, to advantage in controlling satellites.
To verify its research in space, the lab designs and develops microsatellites itself.
Key terms
- Magnetorquer
- A device that generates a magnetic force by passing current through a coil, and changes a satellite's orientation through the force between that magnet and Earth's magnetic field
- Space plasma
- A thin gas in space made up of a mixture of electrically charged particles
- CubeSat
- A standardized microsatellite built from units of a cube about 10 cm on a side
NewsLab news
The lab's microsatellite MAGNARO-II was launched, and its signals were successfully received
A student received the Outstanding Student Award from the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE)
A student received the Outstanding Student Award from the Robotics Society of Japan
A master's student received the Excellent Presentation Award at the Master's Thesis Interim Presentation
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies aircraft and small satellites that were not possible before and are made possible by new technologies. Focusing on the effects of the space environment, which act more strongly on smaller spacecraft, the lab uses them for control, aiming at microsatellites with high functionality using few resources.
*Illustrative imageFlight Stability of Flapping Drones
The lab focuses on "flapping drones," which imitate the flapping flight of birds and insects. It expresses wing motion mathematically and analyzes how changes in that motion and in design values affect flight stability.
*Illustrative imageLowering Orbits with Magnetism and Space Plasma
To bring microsatellites back into the atmosphere for reentry after their operation ends, the lab proposes "magnetoplasma deorbit," which generates drag through the interaction between the magnetorquers used for attitude control and space plasma. It is also examining the use of this force for satellite formation flying.
*Illustrative imageSatellites That Detect Anomalies by Themselves
The lab developed a method that uses deep learning to examine the difference between data from attitude control devices and values predicted by a dynamics model. It detects and classifies anomalies autonomously, with computation light enough to run onboard a satellite.
*Illustrative imageCommunication Between Microsatellites
For CubeSat-class satellites, the lab studies a method that autonomously determines orbit and attitude by using the forces of the space environment, whose effects are greater on smaller satellites, and uses it to control antenna pointing for inter-satellite communication.
MembersFaculty
The Aerospace Vehicle Motion Systems Engineering Lab consists of faculty, technical and administrative assistants, and students in the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs.As of 2026
- ProfessorShigeru Sunada
- Associate ProfessorTakaya Inamori
- Project Assistant ProfessorYukihisa Otani
- Project Assistant ProfessorYosuke Kawabata
- Project Assistant ProfessorKeita Tanaka
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Report an errorAbout the images
For images provided to us or used with permission, the source is listed on each line. Wikimedia Commons images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab (they are cropped). Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “LICIACube CubeSat a companion satellite of Dart Spacecraft” NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman / Public domain (cropped)
- Flight Stability of Flapping Drones: “UTIAS Snowbird ornithopter 1198” Ahunt / CC0 (cropped)
- Lowering Orbits with Magnetism and Space Plasma: “Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft reentry” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Satellites That Detect Anomalies by Themselves: “GoddardMagTestFacility2019” SlowTimeEnvelope / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Communication Between Microsatellites: “A Yagi-Uda antenna assists with satellite communication during Northern Viking )” U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Brandie Nuzzi / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Sensing Engineering Lab): “Atomic Force Microscope 01” Gannu03 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Thermal Control Engineering Lab (1)): “NASA’s Pandora Mission Closer To Probing Alien Atmospheres (SVS14754)” NASA/Weston Maughan, BCT / Public domain (cropped)
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