Space with Less Orbital Debris. The UniPD PhD Space Sciences student, Alice Brunello is awarded in Paris

04.10.2022

Alice Brunello, a 29-year-old doctorate student of the University of Padua CISAS G. Colombo Centre, is a Luigi G. Napolitano Award finalist. Awarded annually, the under 30 finalists are those who have demonstrated a significant contribution to the advancement of aerospace science and submitted a paper at the International Astronautical Congress.

Brunello submitted the paper Deployment Functional Tests of an Electrodynamic Tape for Space Debris Mitigation at the IAC2022 world conference in Paris, which offers results of deployment tests of an electrodynamic tape able to deorbit exhausted satellites, helping to reduce orbital debris. Brunello explains that the mitigation of orbital debris has been a topic of extreme interest in the world space, venturing to say the most important. As we proceed towards LEO (low Earth orbit) saturation, it will become impossible to launch new satellites into space.

The IAC2022 conference in Paris is the largest aerospace conference in the world. Held this year from September 18 to 22, the event hosted 9,000 people at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles; awards were bestowed during the closing ceremony on September 22.  

The study is part of the ET PACK European Project funded by the European Commission H2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant Agreement No. 828902.

Dr Brunello conducted the research under the scientific supervision of Professors Enrico Lorenzini and Andrea Valmorbida of the Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Padua.