HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — CFD Research Corporation has been awarded a NASA contract to develop advanced technologies that improve trust, transparency, and decision-making in autonomous space systems.
As space missions become more complex, autonomous systems are increasingly relied on to perform critical tasks such as spacecraft navigation, docking, and coordination. However, a key challenge remains: ensuring that both machines and human operators can understand and trust the decisions being made, especially in uncertain or rapidly changing environments.
To address this, CFD Research is developing a comprehensive framework that helps autonomous systems better understand uncertainty and clearly communicate it to human operators. By combining advanced artificial intelligence, data-driven modeling, and explainable decision-making tools, the system will provide clearer insight into how and why autonomous decisions are made.
Working in partnership with the University of Michigan, the team will apply this framework to space rendezvous operations – one of the most complex and critical maneuvers in spaceflight. The effort builds on successful early research demonstrating how AI models can track and interpret spacecraft positioning, while also identifying and communicating uncertainty in those predictions.
“As autonomous systems take on more responsibility in space missions, it’s critical that we can trust not just their decisions, but also understand the confidence behind them,” said Stephen Giles, Senior Research Engineer at CFD Research. “This work is about making autonomy more transparent and reliable, enabling stronger collaboration between human operators and intelligent systems in high-stakes environments.”
The project will further enhance these capabilities by incorporating real-time learning, adaptive decision-making, and intuitive user interfaces that present system status and confidence levels in a clear, actionable way.
By improving how uncertainty is managed and communicated, this work supports NASA’s mission to enable safer, more reliable autonomous operations for future exploration missions, including those involving human-machine collaboration in deep space.
About CFD Research
Founded in 1987, CFD Research is a 100% employee-owned (ESOP) engineering and technology firm delivering innovative solutions across Aerospace, Defense, Intelligence, Sensing, Prototyping, Biotechnology, Life Sciences, and Test & Evaluation. The company is recognized for developing and commercializing advanced multi-physics simulation software, component and system technology prototypes, multidisciplinary analyses, and expert support services. This work has earned multiple national awards, along with recognition on the Inc. 5000 list five times in the past six years. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, with facilities in Dayton, OH, Hollywood, AL, and Fort Walton Beach, FL, CFD Research is ISO 9001:AS9100D registered and CMMI Level II appraised for Services. Learn more at www.cfd-research.com.
