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Georgia Institute of Technology

SST footprint: 2 projects (1 as lead org, 1 via PI at JSC) | TechPort footprint: 6 projects across 3 programs (SST, NIAC, STRG) under John Christian | Outcome: transitioned (algorithms in Artemis I, Lunar Flashlight, multiple exploration missions) | PI recognition: AAS Fellow (2021), AIAA Associate Fellow, book author

Last updated: 2026-04-14 (session 19)

The Story

John Christian is the SST portfolio's premier optical navigation researcher — and one of only ~3 PIs who appear on two SST projects from different institutions (JSC in 2013, GA Tech in 2023). His career arc from JSC engineer to GA Tech professor to AAS Fellow tracks perfectly with the "People Chain" archetype, but with an unusual twist: his SST-funded algorithms ended up in Artemis I (humanity's return to the Moon) and on Lunar Flashlight (an SST mission he wasn't originally part of). The algorithms outlived the projects.

SST Projects

1. MEMS IMU Swarms Navigation 91474

  • Period: 2013-10-01 to 2014-12-07
  • TRL: 3 → ? (early-era, brief project)
  • Lead org: Johnson Space Center
  • PI: John Christian (at JSC, GNC Autonomous Flight Systems Branch, 2010–2012)
  • TX: Navigation
  • Description: MEMS inertial measurement units for swarm spacecraft relative navigation

2. Autonomous Optical Navigation Instrument for Deep Space 155359

  • Period: 2023-10-01 to 2025-09-30
  • TRL: 3 → 3 (target 6, did not advance — TechPort may lag actual progress)
  • Lead org: Georgia Institute of Technology
  • PI: John Christian
  • Co-I: Rebecca J Inman (JSC) — maintains the JSC partnership
  • TX: TX05.4.2 Revolutionary PNT Technologies
  • Destinations: Mars, inner solar system
  • Description: Horizon-based OPNAV instrument for autonomous cislunar and deep-space navigation. 1U form factor. Leverages Orion OPNAV system from Artemis I. Both PI (Christian) and NASA partner (Inman) were involved with Orion's OPNAV instrument.

11-year gap: The same PI, the same research thread (spacecraft optical navigation), but from two different institutions. Christian left JSC (2012), joined WVU, then moved to GA Tech (2016). The thread persisted through the career move.

Full TechPort Footprint (John Christian)

Project Program Period TRL Role Lead Org Status
91474 MEMS IMU Swarms Nav SST 2013–2014 3→? PI JSC Completed
155359 Autonomous Optical Nav SST 2023–2025 3→3 PI GA Tech Completed
106039 StarNAV (relativistic starlight) NIAC 2020–2021 1→3 PI Rensselaer Polytechnic Completed
118309 Illumination Invariant TRN STRG 2022–2023 2→3 PI GA Tech Completed
156373 Image-Based Relative Nav STRG 2023–2027 2→? PI GA Tech Active
158590 Neural Radiance Fields Nav STRG 2024–2028 2→? PI GA Tech Active

6 projects across 3 STMD programs (SST, NIAC, STRG) spanning 2013–2028 (15 years of continuous STMD funding). Two STRG projects currently active. Christian is one of the most prolific STMD-funded university PIs in the optical navigation domain.

Pre-SST: JSC Career (2010–2012)

Christian was an engineer in NASA JSC's GNC Autonomous Flight Systems Branch before entering academia. During this time he contributed to: - Space Shuttle navigation activities - International Space Station navigation - Orion optical navigation system development (pre-Artemis)

This JSC heritage is the foundation for everything that followed. The Orion OPNAV instrument he helped develop flew on Artemis I in 2022.

Downstream: Artemis I (2022)

Christian's optical navigation algorithms — developed through his JSC career and refined through SST/STRG/NIAC funding — were part of the Orion OPNAV system on Artemis I, humanity's first crewed-rated flight to the Moon since Apollo. The SST [155359] project description explicitly states: "Both principal investigator and NASA partner were involved with Orion's OPNAV system in the recent Artemis 1 mission."

Confidence: confirmed (TechPort project description, GA Tech press releases, NASA Artemis I mission documentation)

Downstream: Lunar Flashlight LONEStar (2023)

After Lunar Flashlight's propulsion system failed and it couldn't enter lunar orbit (an SST mission — see JPL org page), NASA transferred mission ownership to Georgia Tech for an extended mission. Christian's team designed and executed the LONEStar (Lunar Flashlight Optical Navigation Experiment with a Star tracker) experiment:

  • Processed nearly 400 images of star fields, Earth, Moon, and four planets
  • Achieved the first on-orbit demonstrations of heliocentric navigation using only optical observations of planets
  • August–December 2023 operations
  • Used the same Brown-Conrady camera model as the Orion OPNAV camera on Artemis I

This is a remarkable cross-connection: SST funded Lunar Flashlight (JPL-led), Lunar Flashlight's propulsion failed, and another SST-connected PI (Christian) salvaged science value from the failure. Two SST threads converged on a single spacecraft.

Published: "LONEStar: The Lunar Flashlight Optical Navigation Experiment" in Journal of the Astronautical Sciences (2024), Springer.

Confidence: confirmed (Springer publication, GA Tech press, NASA Lunar Flashlight mission page)

Recognition & Publications

  • AAS Fellow (2021) — elected by the American Astronautical Society
  • AIAA Associate Fellow
  • Associate Chair for Graduate Programs, GA Tech AE School (2025)
  • Book: Fundamentals of Spacecraft Optical Navigation (Wiley, 2024) — the definitive textbook
  • Google Scholar: 2,513 citations (as of 2026)
  • SEAL Lab: Director, Space Exploration Analysis Laboratory at GA Tech
  • 4th Space Imaging Workshop organizer (2024)
  • NTRS: At least 1 paper: "Observations of the Geometry of Horizon-Based Optical Navigation" (JSC, 2016, conference paper)

NIAC: StarNAV 106039

Worth noting: Christian's NIAC project proposed navigation using the relativistic perturbation of starlight — measuring changes in inter-star angles due to stellar aberration to estimate vehicle velocity. This represents the far end of his navigation research spectrum: from practical Orion OPNAV (TRL 7+) to speculative interstellar navigation concepts (TRL 1→3). The breadth is unusual.

People & Connections

  • John Christian — JSC (2010–2012) → WVU → GA Tech (2016–present). AAS Fellow. 2 SST projects, 11 years apart.
  • Rebecca J Inman (JSC) — Co-I on SST [155359]. Maintains the JSC–GA Tech partnership that originated during Christian's JSC tenure.
  • Glenn Lightsey — Former JSC colleague, now GA Tech SSDL. Lightsey appears on SST [91360] (CubeSat AR&D Software at JSC) and is connected to GPDM, VISORS, SWARM-EX. Christian and Lightsey are both JSC→GA Tech people chains, reinforcing GA Tech as an SST alumni hub.
  • Carl Vries — Co-I on STRG [118309] Illumination Invariant TRN.
  • Soumyo Dutta — Project Manager on STRG [156373], NASA connection.

Cross-References

Assessment

Christian represents the purest "People Chain" archetype in the SST portfolio: - SST didn't produce a product or a company — it invested in a person who became the leading optical navigation researcher in the US academic community - His algorithms flew on Artemis I, the highest-profile NASA mission in a generation - He rescued science value from Lunar Flashlight (another SST investment) when its primary mission failed - 2 SST projects spanning 11 years and 2 institutions show sustained program loyalty - 6 TechPort projects across 3 programs (SST, NIAC, STRG) = one of the broadest STMD footprints among university PIs - AAS Fellow, book author, 2,500+ citations — the SST investment compounded through the researcher, not through any single project

GA Tech as SST alumni hub: Both Christian and Lightsey moved from JSC to GA Tech, bringing SST heritage with them. GA Tech's SSDL and SEAL labs are now downstream beneficiaries of SST's investment in NASA center personnel who transitioned to academia.