PoliMi Advisor: F. Maggi

Company Supervisor: Ing. D. Zuin

Activity begins in April/May 2024.

Availability: 1 candidate

Location: D-Orbit (Fino Mornasco)

Bipropellant thruster designs are critical for the correct working of propulsive assemblies. Improper designs are detrimental for the delivery of thrusting maneuvers in space. As such, retrieval of in-orbit data are key for the acquisition of heritage and knowledge allowing optimization of pivotal thruster performances.
This master thesis work is based on the retrieval of working heritage for a thruster based on ‘green’ and self-pressurized propellants. It starts from a detailed bibliographic research on the working mechanisms of the thruster, its design, manufacturing characteristics and other inputs: the student shall identify the critical design aspects of the engine and how they affect the behaviour of the thruster and overall propulsive system. In the second part, the student shall identify the testing criticalities and how test data are retrieved, from atmospheric testing to in-orbit maneuvering. The final aim of the thesis is the development of correlations models capable of tailoring the on-ground performances with the in orbit capabilities of the engine: the thesis shall be concluded with the implementation of a redesign of the assembly, to achieve improved engine performances.

Strong experience of Matlab & Simulink environments is mandatory. Knowledge of Cad Modelling is preferred.

PoliMi Advisor: F. Maggi

Company Supervisor: Ing. D. Zuin

Activity begins in April/May 2024.

Availability: 1 candidate

Location: D-Orbit (Fino Mornasco)

Bipropellant thruster injector designs based on self-pressurized propellants are becoming widespread in the propulsion panorama. They allow the removal of expansive, complex and heavy pressurization methods within satellites, easing the design of propulsive subsystems. On the other side, criticalities in propellant management involving pressurization methods arise.
This master thesis work is based on the analysis of possible propellant management solutions for self- pressurized fluids in space. Starting from the existing PMD technologies applied to in-space satellites, the student shall identify the peculiarities of each technology, its features and its criticalities. On parallel, the student shall develop a model capable of predicting the self-pressurization phenomenon in
a tank. The model shall include the possibility to insert the propellant management solution, and to predict the propellant behavior of the system in this condition. In the second part of the thesis, the student, shall select among the identified PMD alternatives: the thesis is concluded with a detailed design of a dedicated PMD for a specific company satellite. The design shall leverage on the outputs from the previously developed model.
Experience on Matlab & Simulink and Cad Modelling is mandatory. Knowledge of CFD modelling (ANSYS Fluent/OpenFOAM tools) is preferred.

PoliMi Advisor: F. Maggi

Company Supervisor: Ing. D. Zuin

Activity begins in April/May 2024.

Availability: 1 candidate

Location: D-Orbit (Fino Mornasco)

The application of AM combined with Green and Self-Pressurized technologies for in space propulsionengines is enabling the development of innovative small/ medium sized propulsion units. One of the challenges of these technologies is the development of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) models capable of predicting combustion phenomena and flow patterns within channels.
The aim of this master thesis is to develop a thermal model to be coupled with the reacting CFD flow model, previously developed, in order to capture the transient behavior of the thruster walls during firing conditions. The model shall be based on heat transfer principles, implementing radiation cooling techniques; the student shall analyze the state of the art in literature for heat transfer, fluid dynamics and
chemical combustion phenomena in thruster assemblies. Then, a detailed model of the heat transient of a space propulsion engine with a complete 3D geometry shall be implemented.
The work will be performed through ANSYS Fluent/OpenFOAM tools: previous experience with these tools is mandatorily requested

PoliMi Advisor: F. Maggi

Company Supervisor: Ing. D. Zuin

Activity begins in April/May 2024.

Availability: 1 candidate

Location: D-Orbit (Fino Mornasco)

Ignition is a critical aspect of in-space bipropellant chemical thrusters: the presence of tight constrains in terms of envelope, temperature, power and mass restrict the available ignition options. Innovative technologies, such as Additive Manufacturing (AM), allow engineers to ease design and functional requirements associated to ignition devices, allowing different innovative solutions in this field.
The aim of this master thesis is to improve the knowledge related to the ignition mechanisms of bipropellant thrusters based on self-pressurized nitrous oxide technology for in-space applications. The student shall start with a detailed analysis of the criticalities associated to green propellants and self-pressurization to determine their characteristics during transient phases. Afterwards, the student shall
evaluate the currently available technology solutions in ignition methods for thruster assemblies of this type, evaluate their heritage and development status.
In the second part, the student shall identify and focus on one of the ignition techniques: an experimental campaign shall be settled in order to develop a dedicated innovative ignition device and perform testing of the overall assembly.

Experience on Matlab & Simulink and Cad Modelling is mandatory.

PoliMi Advisor: F. Maggi

Company Supervisor: Ing. D. Zuin and Ing. S. La Luna

Activity begins in April/May 2024.

Availability: 1 candidate

Location: D-Orbit (Fino Mornasco)

Limitations in satellite propulsion solutions significantly affect the possibilities associated to space missions. Depending on the mission profile of an in-space satellite, different propulsion methods are available in the market, based on electrical, chemical or other technologies. However, within the last decade, alternative propulsion methods are being explored, either associated to chemical, nuclear, or on external conditions (solar wind, radiations, etc).
The aim of this master thesis is to explore the peculiarities of different exotic propulsive technologies with a tailoring on technologies feasible for future in-orbit servicing applications. Within the first part, the student shall start with an analysis of the in-orbit servicing applications environment, comparing the current missions proposed in this field and the planned ones in the near future. On parallel, the student shall identify innovative propulsive technologies under development in the market/theorized, identify the working principles of each technology, explore their potential and limitations.
In the second part, the student shall apply (and demonstrate with models) the feasibility of different propulsive solutions to a selected set of in-orbit satellite missions. The student shall compare the technologies and their potential, understand the main obstacles which still block these technologies from being implemented in industrial applications, and propose alternative solutions to overcome the issues.

Experience on Matlab & Simulink is mandatory.

PoliMi Advisor: F. Maggi

Company Supervisor: Ing. S. La Luna

Activity begins in April/May 2024.

Availability: 1 candidate

Location: D-Orbit (Fino Mornasco)

Self-pressurization is an innovative and promising technology within the space propulsion panorama. It enables satellite re-fueling and eases propellant management in orbit. The aim of this master thesis is to develop a thermal model to predict the behaviour of nitrous oxide self-pressurized propellant in the context of in-orbit refueling missions. Within the first part of the thesis, the candidate shall understand the self-pressurizing technology from pre-existing literature and modelling contexts. Then, the thermal model shall be implemented and validated with on-ground data available from literature. In the second part of the thesis, the same thermal model shall be applied to a current DAER satellite launched in 2023 on a Falcon9 SpaceX Mission (REfuelling Conceptual Solution, RECS). On-
ground model data correlation with orbital data shall be performed at this stage. The thesis shall be concluded with the .

Experience on Matlab & Simulink is mandatory. Previous experience with thermal analysis software
(ESATAN, Systema Thermica, Ansys) is preferred.

PoliMi Advisor: F. Maggi

Company Supervisor: Ing. S. La Luna

Activity begins in April/May 2024.

Availability: 1 candidate

Location: D-Orbit (Fino Mornasco)

Small satellite designs involve different subsystems: propulsion, structure, attitude determination, software, on-board data handling, etc. The on-board data handling (OBDH) system could be defined the satellite’s core: it provides a two-way flow of information between spacecraft and ground control stations; it elaborates the information; and it distributes data both externally as well as internally towards
all the subsystems. Transmission (downlink) and reception (uplink) functions are main prerogative of OBDH architectures, as well as the tasks of gathering and processing data ready for transmission, and the processing and routing of command data from ground stations.
This master thesis relies on the design of the OBDH system architecture, passing from the requirements definition for a specific mission and making trade-offs between currently available space solutions and other industrial solution (ex. automotive). The thesis covers aspects up to the sub-system design, such as
design of electronic boards which are part of the OBDH system architecture (avionics).

Knowledge of specific tools for electronics design (e.g. Altium suite) is mandatory.

PoliMi Advisor: F. Maggi

Company Supervisor: Ing. S. La Luna

Activity begins in April/May 2024.

Availability: 1 candidate

Location: D-Orbit (Fino Mornasco)

Small satellite designs involve different subsystems: propulsion, structure, attitude determination, software, on-board data handling, etc. The attitude control system is the subsystem deputed to orientate the spacecraft in order to perform one or more specific mission tasks (propulsive maneuvers, ground communication and intersatellite link applications, payload related activities such as ground target
pointing and other). In terms of angular momentum management, the ACS designer shall define the requirements, elaborate a preliminary solution and provide the hardware to achieve it.
The master thesis rely on the design of the AOCS system, passing from the requirements definition for a specific mission, up to the sub-system design.

Experience on Matlab & Simulink is mandatory.