Project description
A superconducting magnet could help shield the next generation of spacecraft
When spacecraft enter the atmosphere of another planet or re-enter the earth's atmosphere, they are travelling at tremendous speeds. This heats the air around the spacecraft to temperatures so high that chemical bonds of gases in the air are broken, producing plasma, a gas of electrically charged particles, that surrounds the spacecraft. Heat shields are thus critical to the protection of people and equipment. Conventional heat shields rely on ablation, or the heating of materials covering the aircraft which carry away heat with them as they come off. The idea of using superconducting magnets to alter the flow of the high-temperature ionised gas produced on re-entry has been around for a couple of decades but has so far remained the stuff of science fiction. The EU-funded MEESST project is on a mission to make it a reality, with active magnetic shielding for atmospheric entry supported by state-of-the-art simulations that open the door to terrestrial and other space applications as well.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Call for proposal
H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01
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Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
3000 Leuven
Belgium
Participants (9)
38170 Seyssinet Pariset
70174 Stuttgart
85737 Ismaning
1921 Martigny Croix
1640 Rhode Saint Genese
50674 Cologne
SO17 1BJ Southampton
76131 Karlsruhe
4365 Esch-sur-alzette