TC 7.3 Aerospace
Since the IFAC World Congress 2023, I have had the privilege of serving as Chair of IFAC Technical Committee 7.3 on Aerospace. Before taking up this role, I served as Vice-Chair for Education within TC 7.3, and I am also a member of IFAC TC 9.4 on Control Education and of the IEEE Control Systems Society Technical Committee on Aerospace Controls. These roles naturally support a stronger coordination between aerospace control and control education, as well as closer links between IFAC and IEEE in this domain.
I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the service of my predecessors, Professor Antonios Tsourdos (Cranfield University, UK), who led TC 7.3 in the 2017–2023 term, and Professor Houria Siguerdidjane (CentraleSupélec, France), who chaired the Committee in earlier years. Their leadership has been instrumental in shaping a vibrant and truly international community in aerospace control.
In the current term, I have taken the opportunity to update the internal organization of TC 7.3, within the roles prescribed by IFAC, but also making careful use of the flexibility available. In particular, I have introduced a new position of Vice-Chair for Relations with Other Organizations, reflecting the importance of structured inter-committee and inter-society collaboration. I have appointed to this role Professor Gokhan Inalhan (Cranfield University, UK), who serves as Chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Aerospace Controls, thereby formalizing a stronger link between IFAC TC 7.3 and IEEE TC-AC. The full composition of the TC 7.3 board, including Vice-Chairs and Steering Committee members, is reported in the list below.
I have also established an Advisory Board, which has already proved very helpful in guiding strategic choices, in particular regarding new workshops and emerging activity areas. The role and remit of this Advisory Board, together with our flagship events and collaborations with other IFAC TCs and sister organizations such as IEEE and AIAA, will be outlined in the following sections.
On behalf of the board and the Advisory Board, I warmly invite colleagues from academia, industry, and space and aviation agencies to engage with our activities, contribute to our events, and consider joining the Committee.
Paolo Castaldi
Chair, IFAC TC 7.3 Aerospace
University of Bologna, Italy
BOARD AND STEERING COMMITTEE
Chair
Prof. Paolo Castaldi, University of Bologna, Italy
TC Vice Chair
Prof. Antonios Tsourdos, Cranfield University, UK
Vice-Chairs
- Vice-Chair for Education: Prof. Marco Lovera, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
- Vice-Chair for Publications: Prof. Yongchun Xie, Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, China
- Vice-Chair for Industry: Dr. Philippe Goupil, Airbus, France
- Vice-Chair for Social Media: Prof. Spilios Theodoulis, TU Delft, The Netherlands
- Vice-Chair for Relations with Other Organizations: Prof. Gokhan Inalhan, Cranfield University, UK; Chair of the IEEE TC on Aerospace Controls
Steering Committee and Advisor
Steering Committee Advisor: Prof. Alexander Nebylov, State University of Aerospace Instrumentation, Russian Federation
Steering Committee Members:
- Daniel Alazard, ISAE-SUPAERO, France
- Dr Thomas Jones, S-PLANE Automation, South Africa
- Radhakant Padhi, Indian Institute of Science, India
- Chengfei Yue, Harbin Institute of Technology, China
OFFICIAL IFAC KEYWORDS FOR TC 7.3
The following list summarizes the official IFAC-recommended keywords currently associated with TC 7.3 Aerospace.
- Avionic and On-board Equipment
- Flight dynamics Modelling and identification
- Guidance, Navigation and Control of Aircraft and Spacecraft
- Condition Monitoring and Maintenance of Aerospace Systems
- Urban Air Mobility
- AI for Aircraft and Spacecraft Navigation, Guidance and Control
- Aerospace Mission Control and Operations
- Space Exploration and Transportation
- Control of Multi-Satellite Systems
- Aerospace Control Education
- Aerial and Space Robotic
- Digital Twins and IoT for Aerospace Systems Control and Monitoring
SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
Scope
Within IFAC, TC 7.3 Aerospace provides a focal point for research and applications in aerospace control over the whole lifecycle of air and space systems. The Committee is concerned with the dynamics and control of atmospheric and orbital vehicles, ranging from conventional aircraft and rotorcraft to launchers, re-entry vehicles, satellites and constellations, as well as emerging platforms such as unmanned and urban air mobility vehicles. Particular emphasis is placed on mission-oriented aspects, including guidance and navigation, mission management and operations, health monitoring and maintenance, and the integration of advanced avionics, artificial intelligence and digital technologies into safety-critical aerospace systems.
Mission
From an organisational standpoint, the main objectives of TC 7.3 are to offer a structured forum in which academia, industry, space and aviation agencies, air navigation service providers and certification authorities can regularly meet and cooperate; to promote and coordinate flagship IFAC events in the area, including the triennial Symposium on Automatic Control in Aerospace, specialised workshops on Aerospace Control Education and on Multi-Satellite Systems Control, and related activities at the IFAC World Congress; to support TC members in taking leading roles as Associate Editors and guest editors of IFAC-affiliated journals and Special Issues, and as authors of monographs and reference works in aerospace control; and to foster a broad and balanced geographical representation of the international aerospace control community within the Committee.
FLAGSHIP EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Flagship events and editorial activities, coordinated or supported by the TC 7.3 structure, shape the aerospace control community, providing regular opportunities for scientific exchange, educational innovation, and visibility of Committee members within IFAC and partner organisations.
IFAC Symposium on Automatic Control in Aerospace (ACA)
The IFAC Symposium on Automatic Control in Aerospace (ACA) is the triennial IFAC symposium devoted to aerospace control and coordinated within the scope of TC 7.3. The 23rd edition, ACA 2025, took place in Harbin, China, on 2–6 August 2025 and confirmed its role as the main international forum for guidance, navigation and control, flight dynamics, avionics and mission operations for aeronautical and space systems.
https://ifac-aca-2025.hit.edu.cn/
IFAC Workshop on Aerospace Control Education (WACE)
The IFAC Workshop on Aerospace Control Education (WACE) focuses on teaching automatic control in aerospace engineering. The second edition, WACE 2024, held in Bertinoro (Forlì), Italy, on 22–24 July 2024 with Paolo Castaldi as NOC Chair, gathered more than fifty contributions, plenary lectures and a memorial session for Professor Gottzein, highlighting the TC 7.3 commitment to aerospace control education in close collaboration with IFAC TC 9.4 on Control Education.
IFAC Workshop on Control Aspects of Multi-Satellite Systems (CAMSAT)
The IFAC Workshop on Control Aspects of Multi-Satellite Systems (CAMSAT) addresses control and automation issues arising in the “New Space” context of miniaturised satellites, constellations and formations. CAMSAT 2025, which took place in Würzburg, Germany, on 6–8 October 2025, offered a focused forum on networked control, distributed estimation, on-board autonomy and cooperative mission design for multi-satellite systems.
https://www.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/camsat/
Webinars on Aerospace Control Education
TC 7.3 has co-organised online webinars with IFAC TC 9.4 on Control Education, featuring speakers such as Prof. Antonios Tsourdos and Prof. Laurent Burlion and addressing aerospace control education.
These virtual events complement in-person workshops and strengthen the link between technical and educational activities across IFAC and sister organisations
- Collective Drone - Group Design Project
- (Prof. A. Tsourdos, vice-chair TC 7.3)
- IFAC YouTube Channel
- Chasing Sloshing as a Control Education Experience
- (Prof. Laurent Burlion. member TC 7.3)
- IFAC YouTube Channel
JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUES AND EDITORIAL INITIATIVES
TC 7.3 promotes journal Special Issues in Control Engineering Practice, including
"Advanced Topics in Aerial Robotics" Control Engineering Practice, 2023
(Executive Guest Editor Paolo Castaldi; Guest Editor from TC 7.3: S.A. Emami)
Control Engineering Practice | Advanced Topics in Aerial Robotics | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
"New Trends in Spacecraft and Launch Vehicles Control " Control Engineering Practice, 2024
(Executive Guest Editor Paolo Castaldi; Guest Editors from TC 7.3: Laurent Burlion and Elisa Capello)
"Aerospace and Marine Control" Control Engineering Practice, 2025-26
linked to the 23rd IFAC World Congress journal options
(Executive Guest Editor Paolo Castaldi; Guest Editors from TC 7.3: David Henry; Thomas Jones; Chengfei Yue; Seungkeun Kim; Yongchun Xie; Ankersen Finn; Stephane Le Menec; Balint Vanek)
ACA2025 Special Issues (Selected Paper): "Advances in Guidance, Navigation and Control in Aerospace"), 2026
Forthcoming Special Issue based on a selection of papers from ACA 2025
(Executive Editor Paolo Castaldi. Guest Editors from TC 7.3: Yongchun Xi, Chengfei Yue, Thomas Jones, Bin Meng, Bin Zhao).
To appear in 2026
Associate Editors Appointments
These initiatives are accompanied by the nomination from the TC Chair of TC members as Associate Editors, with three appointments in the current triennium.
Encyclopaedia
Promoted by the TC Chair, TC 7.3 members have contributed four invited chapters to the Encyclopedia of Systems and Control, ensuring that aerospace guidance, navigation and control topics are well represented in a major reference work used by researchers, students and practitioners.
Other sponsored events and invited contributions
Over the current triennium, TC 7.3 has sponsored or co-sponsored more than fifteen conferences and workshops under the IFAC umbrella and in cooperation with other professional societies. Within these events, Committee members have organised invited sessions at the IFAC World Congress 2026 and have frequently served as plenary or keynote speakers in meetings such as ACA and WACE.