Aerospace systems

The latest publications in this offer are:

• December 18, 2025

  RE451 Review

  Assessing the end-of-life reliability of a satellite constellation with AltaRica 3.0

  This article presents an innovative approach for the assessment of end-of-life dependability and performance of a satellite constellation inspired from Thales Alenia Space (TAS) referent Telecommunications Constellation System. This work has been done in the context of a cooperation between Thales Alenia Space Dependability and Safety teams and students from the Science et Défis du Spatial program at Ecole Polytechnique. The activity was coordinated by David Mailland (TAS) and benefited from the support of Michel Batteux (IRT-SystemX).

• December 10, 2025

  TRP4029

  Fault tree analysis applied to an autonomous drone

  A pedagogical case study on the application of Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) to a simplified autonomous drone system is presented. After introducing the functional architecture, a fault tree is constructed to identify basic failure events leading to a loss of the drone. A qualitative analysis determines minimal cut sets, highlighting critical vulnerabilities. Design improvement strategies are proposed, and a top-event probability estimate is provided using linear approximation model. The study aims to familiarise engineering students with fundamental safety principles applied to embedded aerospace systems.

• December 10, 2025

  TRP4074

  The carbon-neutral regional aircraft

  A realistic configuration for converting an existing regional aircraft to hydrogen propulsion is described here. The article details the various required elements (tank, architecture, engines, etc.) based on existing technologies brought together in this context. It also specifies the numerical values and dimensional characteristics suitable for a typical mission of 1500 km/50 PAX. Thus, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate the current technical feasibility of a fully decarbonized short-range commercial aircraft, and to open the tracks towards its certification within a reasonable timeframe.

• October 10, 2025

  TRP4012

  Aeronautical combustion chambers

  This article follows the article Airbreathing engine combustors. Part 1: operation and main physical phenomena and focuses on the numerical simulation of aeronautical combustors. In a first part, several common physical models for reactive gaseous flow (kinetics, turbulence, combustion), the liquid phase (atomisation, evaporation) and radiative transfers will be presented. In each case, the assumptions required to establish these models will be discussed. The ability of these models and methods to deal with practical design problems will then be illustrated on two emblematic examples of decarbonization solutions for aeronautics : the combustion of hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels.

• May 10, 2025

  TRP4011

  Aero combustion chambers

  After a reminder of the challenges involved in airbreathing combustion chamber design, particularly from the point of view of reducing the environmental footprint of the aviation sector, the major physical phenomena taking place in the chamber will be highlighted. Whether related to reactive gas flow (kinetics, turbulence, combustion), the liquid phase (atomization, evaporation) or radiative transfer, the most fundamental principles underlying them will be recalled. Finally, using the appropriate dimensionless numbers, the main regimes encountered for each phenomenon in an aeronautical combustor will be presented.

• March 10, 2025

  TRP4070

  Multidisciplinary optimization

• January 10, 2025

  TRP4073

  Additive manufacturing: potential applications for drone production

  This article explores the many uses of additive manufacturing in the UAV sector, both civil and military. It provides a non-exhaustive overview of the possibilities offered by these disruptive technologies and presents a multitude of applications for metal, plastic or composite 3D printing to manufacture parts, or even entire UAVs. The article is illustrated by an interactive map, built on the basis of an exploration of the Web. The aim is to help readers visualise the links between the players, materials, processes and applications associated with additive manufacturing for drones.

• August 10, 2024

  TRP4090

  Liquid propulsion rocket engine turbomachinery

  Rocket engine turbomachineries represent one of the most complex equipments of a space vehicle, a concentrate of technology and industrial expertise often considered as strategic know-how. The use of cryogenic fluids for high performance propulsion systems, brings additional complexities that are specific to space application, playing an important role in all phases of a product life, from design to qualification. Guidelines for turbopumps design and integration are presented, covering the elementary concepts of pump, turbine and secondary circuits design, as well as mechanics, shaft sustentation and vibration analysis.

• July 10, 2024

  TRP4057

  The challenges of launcher architecture in the context of New Space

  Based on the physical and thermodynamic principles that underlie the architecture of space launchers, this article proposes a synthesis of the new architectures that are emerging in the context of the New Space. Indeed, the industrialists realize and operate innovative vehicles, in a new balance between contracting authorities and prime contractors and in a new approach of public-private partnership. This article reviews the new technologies, materials, processes and means of propulsion that are taking off in this context, by linking them to the foundations of rocketry.

• April 10, 2024

  TRP4066

  Spatial trajectories

  Stabilizing the number of space debris requires strict compliance with mitigation regulations and the removal of about ten large debris per year.. Cleaning missions consist of launching a series of vehicles to capture and deorbit selected debris. The planning of these missions leads to a time-dependent travelling salesman problem including the optimization of orbital transfers between successive debris. This problem is treated by a three-step procedure, using a transfer strategy adapted to high or low thrust and a simulated annealing method for the path optimization. This procedure is illustrated on an example for planning 3 successive missions.

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