Topic 5
Space Debris: From trash to treasure
2 October, 2024 at 15:00 - 17:00
Egmont Palace, Brussels
Space debris, composed of dead satellites, upper stages or fragmented pieces from collisions, poses a significant threat for in-orbit operation but also on Earth when those do uncontrolled re-entry in our atmosphere. As the number of objects in Low Earth Orbit rises this became a major concern to avoid chain reaction and jeopardize future use of those orbits. The session will address this issue that requires effective debris mitigation while ensuring demisability of spacecraft while re-entering.
Speakers & Presentations
David Henneaux
Research Engineer in the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) team - Cenaero
Gaetan Kerschen
Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Space Structures and Systems Laboratory, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Liège.
Jerome Daquin
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Namur
Bernd Helber
Senior research Engineer - VKI
Jeroen Van den Eynde
Head of the Aerothermodynamics and Flight Vehicle Engineering Section - European Space Agency
Improving the prediction of space debris degradation falling back to Earth: an overview of numerical simulation strategies
Why is it so challenging to predict the orbital lifetimes of Earth satellites?
Orbital lifetime of space debris and chaos
Burning up satellites in the lab: VKI's contribution to the clean space initiative in the world's largest inductive plasma wind-tunnel
A Blaze in the Sky: Exploring Spacecraft Demise with DRACO
Speakers
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Improving the prediction of space debris degradation falling back to Earth: an overview of numerical simulation strategies
David Henneaux
Research Engineer in the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) team - Cenaero
David Henneaux completed his Master's in Mechanical Engineering at UCLouvain in 2017. He then followed the one-year Research Master program at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI). He obtained his joint UCLouvain-VKI PhD in February 2024 on the development of high-fidelity numerical methods applied to the ablation of space debris during atmospheric entry. He is now working as a research engineer at Cenaero, focusing on the implementation of numerical methods for hypersonic re-entry flows and phase-changing materials.
Why is it so challenging to predict the orbital lifetimes of Earth satellites?
Gaetan Kerschen
Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Space Structures and Systems Laboratory, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Liège
Gaëtan Kerschen is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Liège. He founded and directs the Space Structures and Systems Laboratory. His publications are primarily in the areas of structural dynamics (with a particular focus on nonlinear vibration and aircraft/satellite structures) and orbital mechanics. He teaches courses in satellite engineering, nonlinear vibration and astrodynamics.
Orbital lifetime of space debris and chaos
Jerome Daquin
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Namur
Jerome Daquin serves as an Assistant Professor within the department of Mathematics at the University of Namur since September 2023, and is a member of the naXys research institute. He obtained his PhD thesis at the Observatoire de Paris in 2015, and has worked as postdoctoral fellow at RMIT University and the University of New South Wales in Australia, at the University of Padova in Italy, and at the University of Namur as FNRS fellow. His research interests include the application of dynamical systems theory, astrodynamics and complexity to space domain awareness and sustainability.
Burning up satellites in the lab: VKI's contribution to the clean space initiative in the world's largest inductive plasma wind-tunnel
Bernd Helber
Senior research Engineer - VKI
Bernd Helber graduated in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Stuttgart after a stay at the Centre for Hypersonics at the University of Queensland. He then obtained a PhD from VKI and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel on ablative material characterisation in 2016. He is now working as senior researcher and project leader at VKI on the aerothermochemical characterization of thermal protection systems and space debris materials in the world's largest inductively-coupled plasma facility. His vision are a cleaner space environment and a zero debris approach for future space missions.
A Blaze in the Sky: Exploring Spacecraft Demise with DRACO
Jeroen Van den Eynde
Head of the Aerothermodynamics and Flight Vehicle Engineering Section - European Space Agency
Jeroen Van den Eynde is the Head of the Aerothermodynamics and Flight Vehicle Engineering Section of the European Space Agency. He has worked at ESA for almost 10 years, where he has been supporting a large number of space missions and spacecraft, including launchers, satellites and (re-)entry vehicles. He obtained his PhD at the University of Southampton, with a focus on laminar-turbulent transition in hypersonic flows.
Chair & Co-Chair
Chair: Natacha Callens
Natacha Callens graduated with a double PhD in Physics awarded by the Université Pierre et Marie Curie and the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She started her career in the space sector as local research manager of the ESA/PRODEX project BIOMICS (BIOMImetic and Cellular Systems) successfully launched in the MASER 11 sounding rocket. She joined the ESA Education Office in 2009 as programme coordinator, where she developed and coordinated for several years some ESA hands-on programmes, including the Fly, Drop, and Spin Your Thesis! Programmes. From 2015 to 2023 she has been in charge of the ESA Academy's Training and Learning Programme offering short-duration training sessions to university students to complement what they learn at university and better prepare them for a space-related career. In parallel to secondment at BELSPO to support the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the space-related aspects, she is now in charge of developing the new ESA Academy Engagement Programme aiming at offering structured collaboration models both within ESA and externally with academia, space industry, and institutions to contribute together to the preparation of the future talents in terms of knowledge, skills, and competences.
Co-Chair: Pierre Schrooyen
Mechanical engineer - UCLouvain
Pierre Schrooyen is a mechanical engineer from UCLouvain, after a second master of science in Space study at the International Space University, he graduated with a PhD in aerothermal CFD for atmospheric entry simulation in 2015. Since then, he worked as research engineer at Cenaero developing a multi-physics software and leading the research for high-enthalpy and high-speed flows. Since 2023, he is senior research engineer at the von Karman Institute in the aerospace department. From 2017 to 2023, he was invited professor at UCLouvain teaching aerospace dynamics.