John Christian
Professor John Christian is the associate chair for graduate programs in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In addition to this role, he develops algorithms for extracting information from space sensor data. Prof. Christian is most well-known for his contributions in the use of visible/infrared space imagery, especially for celestial optical navigation (OPNAV), planetary terrain relative navigation (TRN), and star/asterism identification. His algorithms have been incorporated into numerous space exploration missions.
Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Christian held academic positions at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Associate Professor, 2020-2021; Assistant Professor, 2017-2019) and West Virginia University (Assistant Professor, 2013-2017). He was also a Summer Faculty Fellow with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) during the summer of 2021. Prior to his academic career, Christian was an engineer in the GNC Autonomous Flight Systems Branch at NASA Johnson Space Center (2010-2012).
Christian is active in numerous professional societies. He is an AIAA Associate Fellow and an associate editor of the AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. He is also a member of the AAS Space Flight Mechanics Committee and an associate editor of the AAS Journal of the Astronautical Sciences.
He holds a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. He also holds a B.S. and M.S. in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech.
Professor Christian’s teaching interests encompass astrodynamics and aerospace navigation at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He emphasizes integrating theoretical knowledge with practical applications to prepare students for challenges in aerospace engineering. His instruction often includes multidisciplinary approaches that address the complexities of modern aerospace vehicles and their operation.
Professor Christian’s research focuses on spacecraft navigation and astrodynamics. His work addresses the extraction of information from space sensor data, with an emphasis on optical and inertial sensors. He is especially active in the area of spacecraft optical navigation (OpNav). His work includes both theoretical algorithm development and experimental validation through field tests.
Lab/Collaborations:
- Space Exploration Analysis Laboratory (SEAL)
Disciplines:
- Flight Mechanics & Controls
- Systems Design & Optimization
AE Multidisciplinary Research Areas:
- Robotics, Autonomy, and Human Interactions
- Space Exploration and Earth Monitoring
- B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology;
- M.S., Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology;
- Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
- American Astronautical Society (AAS) Fellow, 2021
- NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Fellow, 2020
- AIAA Associate Fellow, 2019
- New Researcher of the Year, WVU Statler College of Engineering & Mineral Resources, 2015
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award, 2015
- AIAA Willy Z. Sadeh Graduate Award in Space Engineering and Space Sciences, 2007
- JA Christian, Fundamentals of Spacecraft Optical Navigation, John Wiley & Sons, 2026
- CA Sherling, W Driessen, H Zhang, MRW II, JA Christian, Filter Smoothing for Spacecraft Navigation, Proceedings of the 38th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite …, 2025
- M Mancini, T Duff, A Leykin, JA Christian, Geometric solution to the angles-only initial orbit determination problem, The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences 72 (5), 49, 2025
- M Mancini, A Thrasher, C De Vries, JA Christian, Crater projection in linear pushbroom camera images, The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences 72 (5), 55, 2025
- JA Christian, MR Walker II, W Bridgman, MJ Sparapany, Runge-Kutta Approximations for Direct Coning Compensation Applying Lie Theory, arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.00412, 2025