Assistant Professor
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Mason Peck brings a wealth of experience in the aerospace industry to his position at Cornell, having spent a decade in spacecraft design, systems engineering, and dynamics, among other research areas.

His current projects include creating a modular, reconfigurable spacecraft, developing “agile” robotics for in-orbit construction, and spacecraft control dynamics. “We are rediscovering how to use dynamics to our advantage,” Peck says. “Most contemporary space systems use active control, but if we can plan system behavior through design requirements, we can reduce the command and control that is required. And what remains can be more robust.”

The challenge for in-space robotic construction, maintenance, and repair efforts is combining agility with limited power resources. In response, Peck is developing jointed robotic arms for space applications that currently use direct- or geared-drive technology. A gyroscope in each joint provides more torque without requiring a lot of energy, Peck explains.

In creating a reconfigurable spacecraft, Peck is addressing critical issues associated with the responsiveness of such craft to new and emerging mission requirements. The concept is to assemble a spacecraft in orbit, comprising subsystems that are not in direct contact, he says.

“We have demonstrated how flux-pinning superconductors can be applied to the problem of bringing the components together, in space, without active control of those components,” says Peck. Superconductors’ ability to grab hold of magnetic flux enables a modular spacecraft architecture that drastically reduces the amount of time typically required to build and launch from the ground a satellite or other object used in advanced research projects.

Ultimately, the idea is to deliver spacecraft built of components that fly in formation with one another, held together by these flux-pinning forces. Reconfiguration depends less on mechanisms than on careful flight mechanics. Power, data, structural stiffness, and other component-to-component interface requirements are addressed through non-contacting methods.

Peck is also the principal investigator for Cornell’s first satellite constellation. CUSat consists of two spacecraft that will demonstrate how one spacecraft can inspect another autonomously. This fall, nearly 50 students will be engaged in designing and building this novel space system. Inspecting a spacecraft helps operators understand its state of health. “If the space shuttle had had such a system,” he explains, “we might have known more about the damaged wing that ultimately led to the Columbia tragedy.” In-orbit inspection is also the first technological step in building and reconfiguring satellites in space.

Before earning a master’s degree and Ph.D. at UCLA, Peck worked at Bell Helicopter and at Hughes Space and Communications (now known as Boeing Satellite Systems). He also conducted research for Honeywell Defense and Space Systems. At Cornell he teaches courses in dynamics and control and in the systems engineering program.

 Professor Peck's Web site