Archives: Projects

Pelayo Peñarroya Rodríguez

  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Funding entity and Program: Marie Curie Scholarship within Stardust-R Project and hosted by Deimos Space

PhD Thesis

Intelligent Navigation and Control System for Minor Celestial Body Descent and Ascent

Date of Defence: 24 September 2025

Supervisors

Manuel Sanjurjo (UC3M)

Abstract

In the next years, the development of an adaptive autonomous system for minor bodies landing will advance the frontier of space exploration of minor celestial objects. Science missions will require safe and reliable landing operations to collect and analyse samples of the surface. These missions are crucial to achieving strategic goals to ascertain the content, origin, and evolution of the solar system. 

The goal of the proposed activity is then: 

  • to investigate innovative adaptive systems for autonomous landing in harsh environments
  • to develop descent/ascent control and navigation systems at minor bodies accounting for high fidelity environment and system models; 
  • to develop strategies to increase system resilience against unexpected events and uncertainties. 

Within 3 years, it is expected to have investigated and evaluated possible techniques and methods to descent, land, and ascent from minor celestial bodies. Based on these results, an experimental tool will be developed first as a technology tester and afterwards applied to one or more relevant study cases. This tool should include GNC, and FDIR algorithms that ensure the robustness of the whole process.

Stardust-R – Stardust Reloaded project within EU H2020 MSCA ITN

EU H2020 Grant agreement: 813644

Research Stays

Institutions: Robotics Innovation Center – DFKI GmbH
Department/Group: Underactuated Robotics
Host: Marko Jankovic
Period: from to April 2022 to July 2022

Doctoral Meetings 2024-2025

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2025 Pelayo Peñarroya

You can check the presentation here.

Doctoral Meetings 2023-2024

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2024 Pelayo Peñarroya

Doctoral Meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 Pelayo Peñarroya

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 P. Peñayorra

Alberto Marín Cebrián

  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Funding entity and Program: Comunidad de Madrid (Garantía Juvenil)

PhD Thesis

Two-dimensional model of wall interaction in Hall effect thruster discharges

Date of Defence: 26 September 2024

Marin_Thesis-1Download

Supervisors

Eduardo Ahedo (UC3M) and Adrián Domínguez

Abstract

Hall effect thrusters are a leading technology in electric space propulsion, fully implemented but still with very active R&D plans to improve their performances in several directions: from a broader power and specific impulse ranges, to a longer lifetime, and improved throttleability and, of course, a higher thruster efficiency. The interaction of the plasma with the walls of the thruster chamber has a key role in the thruster efficiency, through energy losses and recombination at the walls, and the thruster lifetime, through chamber erosion by sputtering.  Plasma-wall interaction is very dependent on the magnetic screening (or shielding) of the walls, the local features of the velocity distribution function of primary electrons, and the secondary electron emission. This Thesis proposal will attempt to model and characterize these problems.
The research will start from an existing kinetic (i.e. particle-based), radial (i.e. one-dimensional) SPT1Dr code, whose last version was developed by a previous PhD student of the research group. The first part of the Thesis will adapt and use SPT1Dr to further analyze several physical phenomena of interest. In the second part a new radial-axial (i.e. two-dimensional) code will be developed based on the lessons learned from SPT1Dr. The new code will be parallelized and will address the phenomena arising from the axial variation of the discharge and the strongly two-dimensional configuration of the applied magnetic topology.

Propulsión por plasma y fusión nuclear: innovando el transporte espacial

Grant number: Y2018/NMT-4750 (PROMETEO-CM)

Research Stays

Institutions: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)(Princenton, United States)
Department/Group: Theory Department
Host: Félix Parra
Period: from September 2023 to December 2023

Doctoral meetings 2023-2024

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2024 Alberto Marín

Doctoral meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 Alberto Marín

Doctoral meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – A. Marín

Doctoral meetings 2020-2021

Tatiana Perrotin

  • Nationality: French
  • Funding entity: Comunidad de Madrid, Spanish government

PhD Thesis

Design, simulation and testing of a low power Hall Effect Thruster

Supervisors

Pablo Fajardo (UC3M) and Eduardo Ahedo (UC3M)

Abstract

The objective is the design of a 200W Cylindrical Hall thruster for experimental studies of the plasma and investigation of anomalous transport to confront with numerical studies. A model of hollow cathode will be developed. Experiments and simulations results will allow for optimizing the system.

Propulsión por plasma y fusión nuclear: innovando el transporte espacial

Grant number: Y2018/NMT-4750 (PROMETEO-CM)

The work of this PhD is also related to these two projects:

Research Stays

Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Department/Group: Institut de Combustion, Aérothermique, Réacivité et Environnement (ICARE)
Host: Stéphane Mazouffre
Period: from to January 2023 to March 2023

Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Department/Group: Institut de Combustion, Aérothermique, Réacivité et Environnement (ICARE)
Host: Stéphane Mazouffre
Period: from to April 2022 to May 2022

Doctoral Meetings 2024-2025

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2025 Tatiana Perrotin

You can check the presentation here.

Doctoral Meetings 2023-2024

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2024 Tatiana Perrotin

Doctoral Meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 Tatiana Perrotin

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – T. Perrotin

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

Sergio García González

  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Funding entity: Granted by CAM and carried out within SENER

PhD Thesis

Avionic System of a Deorbit Kit Based on Electrodynamic Tethers

Date of Defence: 12 June 2023

Supervisors

Gonzalo Sánchez Arriaga (UC3M).

Abstract

The PhD is focused on the design, development and validation of a miniatured avionic system for a deorbit kit based on bare electrodynamic tether technology. Being the actual space debris population unstable (Kessler Syndrome), the deorbit kit is aimed at covering a critical need of future space operations and can help to open a new market on deorbit technologies. The proposed avionic system shall be able to communicate with ground, determine the attitude of the mother spacecraft using Sun sensors and magnetometers and detumble it using torquerods, determine the position using a GNSS sensor, command the tether deployment system, command the electron emitter, and manage both the power received from the solar panels of the kit and the power harvested by the tether. The work is organized into four phases: (i) a requirement definition and preliminary design phase, which includes mission modelling and simulation, (ii) a procurement and detailed design phase, (iii) integration, and (iv) testing. The special needs of the avionics system of the kit distinguish it from the designs in conventional satellites, and they involve an important research and development effort.

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – S. García

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

Content subject to Non-Disclosure

Jesús Perales

  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Funding entity and Program: PIF UC3M

PhD Thesis

Fluid-kinetic models for space plasma thrusters

Date of Defence: 15 May 2024

Perales_Thesis_2024Download

Supervisors

Eduardo Ahedo (UC3M) and Adrián Domínguez

Abstract

The work to be developed in this thesis consists on improving the capacities of an  existing 2D hybrid-PIC code, HYPHEN, and using it to run numerical simulations of the discharge of the Hall Effect Thruster. The objectives are to characterize the discharge and better understand its physics.

EDDA – European Direct-Drive Architecture

EU H2020 Grant number: 870470

Research Stays


Institutions: Imperial College London
Department/Group: Imperial Plasma Propulsion Laboratory
Host: Aaron K. Knoll
Period: from September 2022 to November 2022

Doctoral Meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 Jesús Perales

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – J. Perales

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

Victor Gómez García

  • Nationality: Spanish

PhD Thesis

Improvements in helicon plasma thruster (hpt) for its evolution towards space application

Supervisors

Pablo Fajardo Peña (UC3M)

Abstract

The proposed doctoral research aims at boosting the technology development of the Helicon Plasma Thruster by supporting and linking two development lines: an industrial line, whose goal is to increase the technology readiness level (TRL), focused in the consolidation of an Engineering model (EM), and a research line, whose primary goal is to better understand the underlying physical processes of the technology.

HelIcon Plasma thruster for In-space Applications

SENER and UC3M. EU H2020 Grant N°: 870542

Doctoral Meetings 2023-2024

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2024 – Víctor Gómez

Doctoral Meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 – Víctor Gómez

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – V. García

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

PhD Aerospace – Doctoral Meetings 20-21- V. García Gómez

Sadaf Shahsavani

  • Nationality: Iranian
  • Funding entity and Program: E.T.PACK project

PhD Thesis

Modeling and Mission Analysis of Low Work-Function Tethers

Date of Defence: 30 November 2022

PhD_Aero_Thesis_sadaf_shahsavaniDownload

Supervisors

Gonzalo Sánchez-Arriaga (UC3M)

Abstract

A new approach in numerical part of the kinetic model of emissive probe is developed which speeds up the code and leverages an opportunity to construct a broad database with Current-Voltage characteristics. The extensive database is integrated in a tether flight simulator to determine the performance of Low Work-Function tethers in Low-Earth-Orbit for deorbiting and re-boost scenarios and the mission analysis is carried out as well. 

Project participation

E.T.PACK – Electrodynamic Tether Technology for Passive Consumable-less Deorbit Kit.

H2020 FET Open. Grant number: 828902

Research Stays

Institutions: Universitá di Padova (Italy)
Department/Group: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale
Host: Enrico Lorenzini
Period: from to March 2022 to May 2022

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – S. Shahsavani

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

PhD Aerospace – Doctoral Meetings 20-21- S. Shahsavani

Guillermo Escribano

  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Funding entity and Program: ESA Networking/Partnering Initiative

PhD Thesis

Maneuvering Target Tracking Methods for Space Surveillance

Date of Defence: 22 March 2024

Escribano Thesis_2024Download

Supervisors

Manuel Sanjurjo Rivo (UC3M) and Jan Siminski (ESA)

Abstract

As the near Earth orbital environment continues to clutter with debris and mega-constellations, advanced methods for Space Surveillance and Tracking are deemed necessary to maintain acceptable levels of risk in space operations. This PhD is aimed at the development of automated maneuver detection methods to increase the level of automation in data association tasks, with the ultimate goal of minimizing the state uncertainty of active space objects. Data association and maneuver detection are jointly posed in the form of a multiple-target maneuvering target tracking problem, in which each individual target is characterized by a stochastic hybrid system. Information derived from measurements, control cost and historical maneuvers is leveraged in a statistical framework allowing for inherent robustness.

Research Stays

Institutions: European Space Operations Center
Department/Group: Space Debris Office (OPS-SD)
Host: Jan Siminski
Period: from April 2023 to August 2023

Institutions: University of Texas at Austin
Department/Group: Controls, Autonomy, Estimation, and Learning for Uncertain Systems (CAELUS)
Host: Brandon A. Jones
Period: from May 2022 to December 2022

Institutions: European Space Operations Center
Department/Group: Space Debris Office (OPS-SD)
Host: Jan Siminski
Period: from November 2021 to December 2021

Doctoral Meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 Guillermo Escribano

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – G. Escribano

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

PhD Aerospace – Doctoral Meetings 20-21- G. Escribano

Eduardo Andrés Endériz

  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Funding entity and Program:
    • PIF UC3M
    • SESAR Engage KTN PhD

PhD Thesis

Aircraft Trajectory Planning Considering Ensemble Forecasting of Thunderstorms

Date of Defence: 21 December 2022

thesiseduardoandres_2022-12-21-1Download

Supervisors

Manuel Soler (UC3M), Manuel Sanjurjo-Rivo (UC3M) and Maryam Kamgarpour (EPFL – Lausanne)

Abstract

The intrinsic uncertainty of thunderstorms poses a major threat for flights, as it jeopardizes the safety of the passengers and the airframe. The aim of this thesis consists in developing new methodologies for aircraft trajectory planning in real time assuming stochastic weather forecasts and suggest safe and efficient detours to pilots and ATCs.

Project participation

MetATS – Managing meteorological uncertainty for a more efficient air traffic system.

RTI2018-098471-B-C32. CONVOCATORIA 2018 DE PROYECTOS I+D+i «RETOS INVESTIGACIÓN» DEL PROGRAMA ESTATAL DE I+D+i ORIENTADA A LOS RETOS DE LA SOCIEDAD- MINISTERIO DE CIENCIA, INNOVACIÓN Y UNIVERSIDADES. 2019-2021. 2019-2021.

STORMY – A pilot/dispatcher support tool based on the enhanced provision of thunderstorm forecasts considering its inherent uncertainty.

Grant agreement No 783287. Funded by Engage, The SESAR H2020 Research Knowledge Transfer. 2019-2021

Research Stays

Institutions: Escuela Politécnica Federal de Lausana (EPFL)
Department/Group: SYCAMORE Lab, (EPFL)
Host: Maryam Kamgarpour
Period: from to December 2021 to March 2022

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – E. Andrés

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

PhD Aerospace – Doctoral Meetings 20-21- E. Andrés

Luca Chiabò

  • Nationality: Italian
  • Funding entity: PIPF UC3M

PhD Thesis

Emissive Langmuir Probe Theory with Application to Low Work Function Electrodynamic Tethers

Date of Defence: 21 November 2022

Thesis_LucaChiabó_2022-11-21Download

Supervisors

Gonzalo Sanchez-Arriaga (UC3M)

Abstract

Focus of the research is modelling the interaction between Langmuir/emissive probes and the plasma environment. The main goal is to extend the Orbital Motion Theory (OMT) to tape geometries, which are favourable for Low Work-function Tethers (LWTs) applications for deorbiting satellites at the end of life.

Project participation

E.T.PACK – Electrodynamic Tether Technology for Passive Consumable-less Deorbit Kit.

H2020 FET Open. Grant number: 828902

Research Stays

Institutions:Los Alamos National Laboratory
Department/Group: LANL–Applied Math.&Plasma Physics
Host: Gian Luca Delzanno
Period: from to December 2021 to March 2022

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – L. Chiabò

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

PhD Aerospace – Doctoral Meetings 20-21- L. Chiabó

Juan Manuel Catalán Gómez

  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Funding entity and program: PIPF UC3M 01-1920

PhD Thesis

Low-Reynolds-number aerodynamic effects in unsteady flow environments

Date of Defence: 25 September 2024

CatalanGomez_PhDthesisDownload

Supervisors

Manuel García-Villalba Navaridas (TU Wien) and Oscar Flores Arias (UC3M)

Abstract

The unsteady aerodynamics of flapping wings continues to be an area of special interest. Despite this, the determistic character of the simulations does not constitute a fully faithful representation of what really takes place in nature. This is why introducing an effect such as turbulence in an otherwise deterministic flow contributes to reaching new heights in understanding the problems we encounter in nature. Consequently, the objective is to obtain a better perception about the influence of turbulence on the aerodynamic performance of wings in motion, for which not only a statistical characterization of the phenomenon will be necessary, but also the evaluation and quantification of the uncertainty of the problem, that could be extended to other problems without turbulence.

Project participation

QUENCA – Cuantificación de la incertidumbre en simulaciones numéricas de flujos cardíacos

Financiado por la Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Referencia: PID2019-107279RB-I00

Doctoral meetings 2023-2024

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2024 Juanma Catalán

Doctoral meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 Juanma Catalán

Doctoral meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – J. M. Catalán

Doctoral meetings 2020-2021

Iván Castro Fernández

  • Nationality: Spanish

PhD Thesis

Unsteady Aerodynamics of Delta Kites applied to Airborne Wind Energy Systems

Date of Defence: 09 February 2024

Castro-Fernandez_thesisDownload

Supervisors

Gonzalo Sánchez Arriaga (UC3M) and Rauno Cavallaro (UC3M)

Abstract

This thesis will be focused on the analysis of aeroelastic aspects of kites (flexible and rigid) applied to wind energy generation. The methodology will be gradual, starting developing and/or employing more efficient but less representative models and aiming at raising their complexity and fidelity along the thesis.

Project participation

GreenKite-2

Ref.No.: PID2019-110146RB-I00

Research Stays


Institutions:Delft University of Technology
Department/Group: Aerospace Department (AWES group)
Host: Roland Schmehl
Period: from October 2021 to February 2022

Doctoral Meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 Iván Castro

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering – Doctoral Meetings 21-22 I. Castro

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

PhD Aerospace – Doctoral Meetings 20-21- I. Castro


Enrique Bello

  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Funding entity and program: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. FPU program.

PhD Thesis

Analysis of turbulent transport in Hall-effect plasma thrusters

Date of Defence: 16 July 2024

EnriqueBello_PhD_thesisDownload

Supervisors

Eduardo Ahedo (UC3M)

Abstract

Hall-effect plasma thruster are one of the main electric space-propulsion technologies in the market. However, the plasma physics behind its operation are not perfectly well understood, what explains the lack of predictive models. One of the main open problems in the Hall-discharge plasma physics, after more than 50 years of active research, is the anomalously high cross-field electron transport observed when comparing experiments with theory and simulations. Instabilities and turbulence are inherent to partially magnetized ExB plasmas, such as that of the Hall-thruster discharge. They are known to enhance the cross-field electron transport and are, thus, well-positioned candidates to explain the anomalous transport. The turbulence and instabilities take place under a wide range of wavelengths (from typical thruster size to scales below the electron Larmor radius) and frequencies (from a few kHz to tenths of MHz).  Currently, there exist no agreement in the community about the main instability contributing to anomalous transport. In this thesis, instabilities are investigated using global and local linear stability models with a macroscopic description for the plasma species. Several mechanisms are found to destabilize the discharge: relative drift between charged species, dissipation and gradients in the background plasma. The analysis of scales close and below the electron Larmor radius require a kinetic description for the electrons, that leads to the dispersion relation for the electron-cyclotron drift instability. In addition to the linear stability analyses, a full particle-in-cell model is developed in the context of this thesis in order to analyze instabilities and turbulence in the axial and azimuthal directions.

Propulsión por plasma y fusión nuclear: innovando el transporte espacial

Grant number: Y2018/NMT-4750 (PROMETEO-CM)

Research Stays

Institutions: Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier
Department/Group: LAPLACE
Host: Laurent Garrigues
Period: from September 2022 to December 2022

Doctoral Meetings 2023-2024

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2024 Enrique Bello

Doctoral Meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 Enrique Bello

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – E. Bello

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

María Scherezade Barquero Balsera

  • Nationality: Spanish

PhD Thesis

Diagnostics for time-varying exhaust reconstruction applied to a low-power Pulsed Plasma Thruster: Thruster design, development, and characterization

Date of Defense: 31 July 2025

PhD Thesis Scherezade BarqueroDownload

Supervisors

Eduardo Ahedo (UC3M), Mario Merino Martínez (UC3M) and Jaume Navarro Cavallé (UC3M)

Abstract

The current numerical and experimental work spans over the study of a micro Ablative Pulsed Plasma Thruster. A MHD code and a self-contained thruster are being developed from scratch, to provide insight about the discharge process along all its stages, in both terms, physical and about performance.

PPT transient plume cross-section current density distribution at nominal conditions by means of the WAVES  (Wire Array for Variable Exhaust Scanning) experimental diagnostic technique.

MARTINLARA – Millimeter wave Array at Room Temperature for INstruments in LEO Altitude Radio Astronomy

Comunidad de Madrid and European Comission – European structural and investment funds

Research Stays

Institutions: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Department/Group: Institute of Space and Astronautical Science: ISAS
Host: Ryudo Tsukizaki
Period: from September 2022 to November 2022

Doctoral Meetings 2023-2024

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2024 Scherezade Barquero

Doctoral Meetings 2022-2023

PhD Doctoral Meetings 2023 Scherezade Barquero

Doctoral Meetings 2021-2022

PhD Aerospace Engineering Doctoral Meetings 21-22 – M. Scherezade

Doctoral Meetings 2020-2021

PhD Aerospace – Doctoral Meetings 20-21- M. S. Barquero