Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
Distinctively my work spans both the upstream space sector (building and operating spacecraft), and downstream space sector (the services and data that come from the spacecraft). With a focus on the end-to-end development and application of space mission systems my work enables new space-derived data product concepts through advances in space technology.
My specific interests are in the use of advanced concepts, such as solar sailing, and multi-spacecraft platforms to enable new space services through the application of concepts from networked systems and swarm engineering, combined with astrodynamics and space system design. The recent development of small, low-cost spacecraft has led to increased interest in deploying large or even very-large constellations of spacecraft to enable new space-derived datasets and services. To-date, this remains challenging due to the limited resources on-board such platforms coupled with the limited payload capacity. By spanning the up and downstream my fundamental research is developing the means to maximise the performance of these resource-limited, low-cost platforms to enable radical enhancements of, or completely new space-derived services and data. As such my research seeks to develop concepts in, and applications of space technology, including solar sailing, nanosatellites, and constellations, by developing research into astrodynamics, networked systems, swarming, and distributed and collaborative systems.
Expertise & Capabilities
- Space Mission Analysis & Design
- Space Technology
- Astrodynamics
- Swarm Engineering
- Network Systems
- Systems Engineering
- Technology Roadmapping and Analysis
- Technical Foresight & Horizon Scanning
- Advanced Concepts
- CubeSats
- Modelling & Simulation
Personal Statement
A professional space technology engineer, academic & director with a strong, proven and international record of accomplishment. I am the Director of the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, and a Non-Executive Board Member of the UK Space Agency.
I was awarded the 2016 Royal Society of Edinburgh Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane Medal in recognition of my “outstanding research work in the development and application of space mission systems to challenge conventional ideas and advance new concepts in the exploration and exploitation of space.”
Distinctively for an engineer, my publications are in journals such as Scientific Reports, and Physical Review E, as well as top-ranking engineering journals. I also led the development of “The International Handbook of Space Technology”, which has sixty contributing authors, including high-profile contributors from Japan, the USA and Europe.
I was the only non-US member of a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s committee on ‘Achieving Science Goals with CubeSats’, and I am one of only two European Associate Editors of the Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, the top-ranked archival journal in Aerospace Engineering. I am a member of Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Study Group on ‘Small Satellites for Space Sciences’, as well as providing expert advice to, amongst others, the Institute for Defense Analyses, Science and Technology Policy Institute, based in Washington, D.C.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Network
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An aUtonomous DistrIbuted Time signal in-Space
Macdonald, M., Clark, R. & Lowe, C.
Air Force Office of Scientific Research AFOSR (the)
1/10/22 → 30/09/25
Project: Research
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Matryoshka Orbital Networks
Macdonald, M., Clark, R. & Lowe, C.
Air Force Office of Scientific Research AFOSR (the)
1/09/22 → 31/08/25
Project: Research
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Correction: Czerkawski et al. Deep internal learning for inpainting of cloud-affected regions in satellite umagery. Remote Sens. 2022, 14, 1342
Czerkawski, M., Upadhyay, P., Davison, C., Werkmeister, A., Cardona, J., Atkinson, R., Michie, C., Andonovic, I., Macdonald, M. & Tachtatzis, C., 14 Dec 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Remote Sensing. 14, 24, 4 p., 6324.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Identifying effective sink node combinations in spacecraft data transfer networks
Clark, R., McGrath, C. N. & Macdonald, M., Dec 2022, In: Applied Network Science. 7, 1, 37.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
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Identification of effective spreaders in contact networks using dynamical influence
Clark, R. (Creator) & Macdonald, M. (Creator), figshare, 8 Mar 2023
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5274407.v1
Dataset
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Equations for "General Perturbation Method for Satellite Constellation Reconfiguration Using Low-Thrust Maneuvers"
McGrath, C. N. (Contributor) & Macdonald, M. (Contributor), Zenodo, 31 Jan 2023
Dataset
Prizes
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2nd place in Copernicus Masters 2020: BMVI Transport Challenge
McGrath, Ciara (Recipient), Clark, Ruaridh (Recipient), Macdonald, Malcolm (Recipient), McKee, David (Recipient), Clemente, Carmine (Recipient), Ilioudis, Christos (Recipient) & Gibbons, Gwilym (Recipient), 8 Dec 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Finalist in E&T Innovation Awards 2020
McGrath, Ciara (Recipient), Clark, Ruaridh (Recipient), Macdonald, Malcolm (Recipient), Clemente, Carmine (Recipient), McKee, David (Recipient) & Ilioudis, Christos (Recipient), 19 Nov 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Alignments in functional connectivity networks
Ruaridh Clark (Speaker), Mario Parra Rodriguez (Contributor), Keith Smith (Contributor), Javier Escudero (Contributor), Agustin Ibanez (Contributor), William McGeown (Contributor) & Malcolm Macdonald (Contributor)
8 Nov 2022 → 10 Nov 2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Integration of an LED/SPAD Optical Wireless Transceiver with CubeSat On-board Systems
Michael Strain (Contributor), Navid Bani Hassan (Speaker), Mumtaz Ali (Contributor), Alexander Griffiths (Contributor), Christopher Lowe (Contributor), Malcolm Macdonald (Contributor), Martin Dawson (Contributor) & Johannes Herrnsdorf (Contributor)
28 Sep 2020 → 1 Oct 2020Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
Impacts
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Novel orbits for solar sail spacecraft: adoption by international space agencies and influence on their policies and investment
Colin McInnes (Participant), Malcolm Macdonald (Participant), Massimiliano Vasile (Participant) & James Biggs (Participant)
Impact: Impact - for External Portal › Economic and commerce, Policy and legislation
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