- Professor, Aerospace Engineering
- Member, National Academy of Engineering
- University Distinguished Professor
- Jack E. and Frances Brown Chair II
- Phone: 979-845-0130
- Email: alfriend@tamu.edu
- Office: HRBB 702C
Educational Background
- Ph.D., Engineering Mechanics, Virginia Tech – 1967
- M.S., Engineering Mechanics, Stanford University – 1964
- B.S., Engineering Mechanics, Virginia Tech – 1962
Research Interests
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- Space domain awareness
- Astrodynamics
- Satellite formation dynamic, control and relative navigation
- Dynamical systems theory
- Attitude dynamics and control
- Space systems
- Space debris
Certifications & Memberships
- Honorary Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – 2015
- Member, National Academy of Engineering – 1999
- Member, International Academy of Astronautics – 1998
- Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – 1988
- Fellow, American Astronomical Society – 1987
Awards & Honors
- Goddard Astronautics Award, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – 2022
- University Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M University – 2017
- Guidance, Navigation and Control Award, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – 2017
- International Scientific Cooperation Award, American Association for the Advancement of Science – 2005
- Mechanics and Control of Flight Award, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – 1998
Selected Publications
- Park, W. and Alfriend, K.T., "Dynamic Model Fidelity Effects on Covariance Based Track Association, AIAA J. of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, Vol. 47, No. 7, July 2024, pp. 1298-1308
- Prabhu, K., Alfriend, K.T., Rahmani, A. and Hadaegh, F., "Distributed Least Absolute Deviations," AIAA J. of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, Vol. 47, No. 1, Jan 2024, pp. 49-60
- Eapen, R. T., Howell, K. C., and Alfriend, K. T., “Momentum Maps and Transport Mechanisms in the Planar Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem,” Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, 69, Pages 1263-1291, Oct 2022
- Zeng, X., Wen, T., Li, Z., and Alfriend, K. T., “Natural Landing Simulations on Generated Local Rocky Terrains for Asteroid Cubic Lander,” IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 58 (4), Pages 3492-3508, August 2022
- Mahajan, B., Alfriend, K.T., “Analytic orbit theory with any arbitrary spherical harmonic as the dominant perturbation,” Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, 133, 25, May 2021
- Prabhu, K., Majji, M., and Alfriend, K. T., “Least Sum of Absolute Residuals Orbit Determination,” Journal of Guidance Control and Dynamics, 45 (3), Pages 468-480, Oct 2021
- Eapen, R. T., Majji, M., and Alfriend, K. T., “Attitude dynamics of a rigid body in Keplerian motion,” Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, 133, 2, Jan 2021
- Mahajan, B. and Alfriend, K. T., “Analytic orbit theory with any arbitrary spherical harmonic as the dominant perturbation,” Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, 131 (10), 45, Sept 2019