Year in Review 2024

The Chair of Flight Mechanics and Control at TUD Dresden University of Technology wishes everyone happy holidays and a happy new year, and looks back on a successful year 2024. Significant milestones were achieved in national and international research projects and the academic progress in the core research areas of the Chair, robust control and experimental aerodynamics, was presented in a large number of publications in renowned journals and at international conferences.

Marie Curie Fellowship

© Felix Biertümpfel

A highlight of the year was the award of the prestigious Marie Curie Fellowship to Dr. Felix Biertümpfel, a member of the Chair, and the associated REDECORATE project funded by the European Commission. The aim of the project is to use CubeSat swarms to combat space debris cost-effectively. As part of the project, Dr. Biertümpfel spent a research period at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Biertümpfel is currently at the University of Michigan (U-M).

Project work and academic progress

In the past year, the Chair has actively contributed to the further development of the research field in its main research areas of robust control and experimental aerodynamics. Among other things, several contributions were presented at the 2024 AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition. An overview of last year's publications can be found here.

In the area of robust control, several projects addressed the integration of modern concepts into the industry standard. The related ACE and LAURCF projects, which are funded by the ESA, were successfully completed in December. In addition, the OBSIRVA project, also funded by ESA, was launched in recent weeks. In collaboration with Airbus Defence and Space, modern approaches to system identification are being investigated to optimize control laws for future space missions.

© FMR

In addition to other national and international projects, such as URBANSens (energy-optimized flight route planning for drones in urban areas) and IPROP (development of ion wind propulsion systems), the EAGLE test stand built by DLR has been located at the Chair since this year. It will be used for research into controlled landings of launch vehicles for a more sustainable space industry and lunar landers.

The research complex on the "Scaling of cooling air flows in hydroelectric generators" was successfully completed this year. The findings were presented at the 26th International Conference on Electrical Machines and HYDRO 2024 International Conference and Exhibition.