Overview
The International Conference on Spacecraft Formation Flying Missions and Technologies (SFFMT) follows a tradition of organization by national and international space agencies. The conference started in Toulouse (France, 2002), and was later organized in Washington DC (USA, 2004), Noordwijk (The Netherlands, 2008), and St-Huber (Quebec, 2011). In addition to the previous organizing institutions, namely CNES, NASA, ESA and CSA, today the program committee comprises representatives from many world space agencies.
The conference focuses on technologies and systems for spacecraft formation-flying and on-orbit-servicing, and offers the opportunity to discuss ideas and share experiences with participants from all over the world. The conference is intended as a forum for global experts and will act as a showcase for the most recent achievements in the area of distributed space systems. Particular attention will be given to actual national and international space projects, in an attempt to outline the activities which are paving the way for the transition of these breakthrough technologies into operational missions.
On 29-31 May 2013, the 5th SFFMT will be held in the Hilton Munich City Hotel in Bavaria, Germany. The conference is organized by the German Space Operations Center of DLR in collaboration with NASA/JPL (USA) and CSA (Canada). All information on this event, including the call for papers and the registration opening, will be posted on this website as it becomes available. On behalf of the conference committee and those who are sponsoring and supporting this international gathering, we extend a warm invitation for you to join us in Munich, Germany in May 2013.
Missions gallery!
Topics of Interest
Papers are solicited on all aspects of formation-flying and on-orbit servicing, but only new research with respect to the content of the previous symposium will be accepted. More specifically the following topics are planned to be covered at the conference, but other relevant subjects may be accepted as well.
- Lessons learned from current or past missions
- New mission concepts
- Technologies and design of distributed sensors
- Platform technologies (e.g., propulsion, power supply, attitude)
- Inter-satellite links (ISL), distributed processing
- Launchers and impacts on formation and satellite design
- Orbit design and trajectories
- Guidance, Navigation and Control systems and algorithms
- Space flight dynamics methods for distributed space systems
- Tracking and navigation for distributed space systems
- (Non-)cooperative and (de-)centralized architectures
- Operations, mission planning
- Design, modeling, and simulation tools for relevant fields
- Testing and launch preparations
- Regulatory issues (e.g., space debris, ISL frequencies)
Proceedings and Journal Publications
The Proceedings of the 5th SFFMT 2013 will be published in electronic form only. Full author instructions for manuscript preparation will be provided to accepted authors approximately three months before the conference.
Moreover a selection of manuscripts from the 5th SFFMT 2013 will be proposed for publication in a special issue of the International Journal of Space Science and Engineering. The candidate papers will be selected by the Conference Committee and the Chairs of the Technical Sessions and will be communicated to the authors after the conference.
If your paper is accepted for journal publication, please download the following zip archive (copyright_tranfer.zip), which contains the author instructions (copyright_instructions.doc) and the Copyright Transfer Statement (authorform.pdf).
Conference Committee
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Chairman |
Affiliation |
Space Agency |
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Simone D'Amico |
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Co-Chair |
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Alfred Ng |
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Fred Y. Hadaegh |
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Members |
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C. Adams |
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F. Ankersen |
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M. Delpech |
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R. Dittmann |
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A. Dempster |
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E. Gill |
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T. Iwata |
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B. Jakobsson |
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T. Lovell |
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M.P. Ramachandran |
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D. Seguela |
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F. Teston |
Accommodation
A block of rooms will be reserved at selected hotels. Hotel rooms can be booked along with the registration.
The hotel reservation service is performed by our partner CSM and is free of charge for all participants. After receipt of payment CSM will issue a hotel voucher. All costs are to be paid directly at the hotel. The location and classification of the partner hotels will be shown in the map below upon availability.
Tourism and Transport
Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is located in the south-east of Germany. General tourist information can be obtained from the
Munich is conveniently reached via the international Franz-Joseph Strauss airport, which is located some 30 km north-east of the city center. Two local rapid train lines (S1/S8) and a bus service (Lufthansa) connect the airport with the downtwon area. Trains run every 10 min and take approximately 35 min to Marienplatz or Hauptbahnhof. General airport information, flight schedules and travel information is available at the Munich Airport International homepage.
The Deutsche Bundesbahn operates frequent trains to and from Munich's central station (Hauptbahnhof), which is conveniently located in the heart of the town. Online train schedules and fare information may be obtained at DB Travel Service.
Public transport within Munich and its suburbs is provided by the MVV (Munich Transport and Tarif Association). English language time tables, network maps and fare information are available at the MVV homepage. Subways (U-Bahn), rapid trains (S-Bahn), trams and buses can all be used with the same types of tickets.
Munich gallery!
Pre-Registration
The registration for the 5th International Conference on Spacecraft Formation Flying Missions and Technologies 2013 in Munich is handled by our partner
Registration can be accomplished either online or via fax/mail. Detailed instructions will be posted on this page upon availability.
Those wishing to benefit from the reduced early-registration fee must submit their registration by 31 March 2013.
The registration fee for regular participants includes access to the meeting rooms, coffee breaks, lunches, cocktail reception, symposium dinner, and proceedings.
Fees (subject to change)
General Attendance
| Pre-registration (before 31 March 2013) | 550 EUR |
| Late registration (after 31 March 2013) | 650 EUR |
Guest Tickets
| Reception | N/A |
| Symposium Dinner | N/A |
| Proceedings | N/A |
Key Dates/What's New
What's New
| 13 January 2013 | Extended abstract submission deadline |
| 31 August 2012 |
Call for Papers  |
| 31 May 2012 |
First announcement
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| 4 April 2012 | Opened web site |
Key Dates
| 13 January 2013 | Extended abstract submission deadline |
| 28 February 2013 | Abstracts selected/notification of acceptance Preliminary session schedule |
| 31 March 2013 | Closing date for pre-registration Final program |
| 15 May 2013 | Paper submission deadline |
| 29 May 2013 | Start of 5th SFFMT conference |
| October 2013 | Publication of final proceedings Selection of papers for Journal publication |
Contact
Any inquires concerning abstract submission, registration and hotel reservations (made via the conference organizers) should be directed to
If necessary, you can also contact the chairman in person at
Venue
The symposium will be held at
It offers one major conference room, the Ballsaal Strauss, which can host 120-250 participants. The site offers state-of-art technical infrastructure, audio-visual equipment, and quality catering service.
The symposium venue is located within walking distance from the Munich city center; highlights are the shopping mile around Marienplatz, the German Museum and Gasteig Cultural Centre. It can be reached conveniently by public transport through direct train links to the airport and the main station.
Detailed directions to the conference venue are provided at Hilton Munich, whereas city maps of Munich (and other German towns) are provided at stadtplandienst.
Hotel gallery!
Social Event
The registration fee will include participation to the banquet dinner organized at a pleasant Munich location and a cocktail reception at the DLR campus in Oberpfaffenhofen. This will include guided visits of the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) and the Galileo Control Center (GCC).