
Prof. Dr. Marcello Romano
Academic Career and Research Areas
Prof. Romano specializes in spaceflight mechanics, with a primary focus on the rotational and orbital maneuvering of artificial satellites, autonomous guidance, navigation, & control, the engineering of advanced space systems and missions, and orbital robotics for in-space servicing, assembly, and debris removal. His broader research interests extend to entrepreneurial innovation, technology transfer, and space-enabled sustainability. Prof. Romano's research philosophy integrates theoretical investigation with simulation, laboratory experimentation, and flight testing.
After earning his doctorate in aerospace engineering at Politecnico di Milano (2001), Prof. Romano became a U.S. National Research Council postdoctoral fellow. He then served as a tenure-track professor and founding director of the Spacecraft Robotics Lab at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California (2004–2024). He held visiting professorships at TUM, NASA Ames, and Stanford University. In January 2025, Prof. Romano was appointed Chair Professor at TUM. He is a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and an Associate Fellow of AIAA.
Awards
- T-Tec International Open Innovation Initiative, Winning Prototype System (2025)
- Patti Grace Smith Award, American Astronautical Society, USA (2021)
- Menneken Senior and Junior Research Award, NPS, USA (2021 & 2006)
- Best Papers (Scitech, 2018; NASA/ESA Conference on Astrodynamic Tools, 2016)
- Exceptional Research Achievement, NPS, USA (2011)
Key Publications (all publications)
Romano, M., Curti, F., Time-Optimal Control of Linear Time Invariant Systems between two Arbitrary States, Automatica. Volume 120, October 2020.
AbstractVirgili-Llop, J., Zagaris, C., Zappulla II, R., Bradstreet, A., Romano, M., A convex programming based guidance algorithm to capture a tumbling object on orbit using a spacecraft equipped with a robotic manipulator, International Journal of Robotic Research, Vol. 38, Issue 1, pp. 40–72, January 2019.
AbstractChesi, S., Gong, Q., Romano, M., Aerodynamic Three-Axis Attitude Stabilization of a Spacecraft by Center-of-Mass Shifting, Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 40, Issue 7, May 2017, pp. 1613-1626.
AbstractBevilacqua, R., Romano, M., Rendezvous Maneuvers of Multiple Spacecraft Using Differential Drag under J2 Perturbation, Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, December 2008, Vol. 31(6), pp. 1596--1607.
AbstractRomano, M., Exact Analytic Solutions for the Rotation of an Axially Symmetric Rigid Body Subjected to a Constant Torque, Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, August 2008, Vol. 101(4), pp. 175-190.
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