Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

John Van Eepoel is a leading engineer at NASA’s Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office (SSCO) at Goddard Space Flight Center, specializing in relative navigation, autonomous rendezvous, and docking technologies for spacecraft. His work has been instrumental in advancing the sensors and algorithms that enable spacecraft to safely approach and interact with other objects in orbit—whether cooperative or non-cooperative targets. Van Eepoel’s most cited paper (2009, 38 citations) details the Relative Navigation Sensor System developed for the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4, tested in the Flight Robotics Lab. He also led the development of the Argon sensor suite (2012, 32 citations), a flight-ready system combining visual cameras, flash LIDAR, and onboard computing for proximity operations. His research on state estimation for non-cooperative targets (2006, 31 citations) and the Raven on-orbit demonstration (2015, 24 citations) using International Space Station visiting vehicles have significantly influenced autonomous spaceflight. Van Eepoel has also contributed to model-based autonomy for robotic spacecraft and the RETINA terrain navigation tool for NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission. With over 145 total citations, his work continues to shape the future of satellite servicing and autonomous space operations.