Research for sustainable space launch systems
Space infrastructure, exploration, and utilisation have driven new technologies, critical discoveries, and essential services, while also offering valuable insights into climate change. However, the recent rise in launch rates may harm the environment. Also, major knowledge gaps remain regarding the operational, lift-off, and landing phases of launches. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SLICE project aims to address these challenges by creating a research and training programme that combines space engineering with climate science. Its goal is to provide crucial insights and close knowledge gaps in the life-cycle analysis of space launch systems.
Space utilisation plays a crucial role in understanding climate change, but due to a drastic increase in launch rates, there is an urgent need to understand and mitigate potential environmental impacts of space activities themselves, particularly of launchers. However, large knowledge gaps persist for their operational phase from lift-off to landing/reentry. Here, the largest Global Warming Potential and Ozone Layer Depletion Potential are expected. Especially in the higher atmospheric layers, which are only accessed by launchers, potential impacts of emitted pollutants are amplified by very long retention periods and substance accumulation effects. To investigate the Space Launch Impact on Climate and Environment, SLICE will therefore develop a research and training programme that bridges the current divide between space engineering and climate science to close the gaps that exist in the Life-Cycle Analysis of space launch systems. Thus, SLICE will contribute to advance the science of climate change by investigating the three most pressing research areas of this field: Launch Vehicle Emissions, Atmospheric Interaction & Climate Impact and System Analysis & Design. This will generate actionable insights, on which SLICE will develop solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate the delivery of the Green Deal and establish an environmentally sustainable access to space. This will not only generate desperately needed novel results, which will enable cutting-edge innovations. It will also satisfy the pressing demand for a new generation of highly skilled and resilient researchers, trained to create and realise these necessary innovations and to develop a natural ecodesign thinking. SLICE is also highly needed to support current policy efforts, including the European Green Deal, ESA’s Agenda 2025, the upcoming EU Space Law and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) regulations at European level, including the development of PEF Category Rules (PEFCR) for space.
EPFL role: LPAC is hosting one PhD student to study the impact of CFRP structures on the atmosphere.
Problem Definition: CFRP structures are widely used in space applications and increasingly in upper stages as they provide stiff and light-weight solutions. However, their behaviour during re-entry is still not fully mastered. Depending on the case, they should either demise sufficiently to avoid harmful uncontrolled large debris, or thermally resist the re-entry conditions for reusability, with thermal protections that degrade during re-entry as a consumable. The impact of the resulting emissions on the atmosphere is still not understood, and there are no tools that can predict with sufficient precision the environmental impact of composite materials in these applications.
Research Objectives:
• End-of-life impact analysis upon atmospheric re-entry of composite structures, with current materials as benchmark, and novel demisable (or not) concepts, with the aim to propose alternative solutions that reduce the potential for earth-reaching debris, while minimising the overall environmental impact (on the earth's atmosphere, and overall, during the life of the launcher)
Expected Results:
• Assessing the demisability behaviour based on experimental results of simulated re-entry testing of several composite material compositions and microstructures
• Contribution to the modelling of demisability of composites (based on thermal/mechanical behaviour)
• Chemical analysis of the degraded composites and residues
• Life cycle analysis (with focus on end-of-life scenarios) of the various composite solutions for the case study of a launcher
• Proposition of optimised solutions, combining the required mechanical properties and structural requirements while presenting a minimal environmental impact, following a practical case study proposed by AGG
EPFL Space Center will organise a one-week training on Space Sustainability and host one of the PhD students from the IRS (https://slice-dn.eu/dc/dc17/).