TU Delft | Aerospace Engineering

🔭 Last week, we reached an exciting milestone: our new laser communication telescope, located on the roof of the Aerospace Engineering building, captured its first images! 🌟 This state-of-the-art facility will support groundbreaking research into improving laser communication, aiming to enhance data transfer speeds for satellite-based internet. Installing the telescope was no small feat! It required a huge crane to lift it onto our 14-storey building—at night. And with months of cloudy skies delaying calibration, we finally got the clear conditions needed to align the system and capture our first images 📸 The telescope is part of TU Delft's Satellite Communication and Orbital Mechanics Laboratory and our first research project, STORM, will focus on profiling atmospheric turbulence. We want to measure the strength of the turbulence versus the height above the ground — essential for optimising laser links between satellites and Earth. The telescope will serve as a cornerstone for laser satellite communication research for years to come. #aetudelft #tudelft #aerospaceengineering #lasercommunication #satellitetechnology #research #innovation

🎉 Congratulations to Edgar S. Steenstra on winning the 2025 Vening Meinesz Prize for Earth and Environmental Sciences! 🎖️ This €10,000 award recognises his groundbreaking research on planetary formation and evolution—particularly on #Venus and the Moon—as well as his role in international planetary missions. Edgar’s work, including his ERC-funded research on simulating the extreme environments of Venus, is strengthening Dutch contributions to planetary research. It also supports preparations for future ESA and NASA missions—research that is relevant to climate studies on Earth as well. Edgar is currently building the VenusVolAtmos experimental setup, that enables simulating high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. The selection committee praised his exceptional multidisciplinary approach and scientific impact. Edgar: "𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘻 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘻 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘔𝘺 𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘜 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘴." 🔗Read more: https://lnkd.in/eK89kp8v #aetudelft #tudelft #aerospaceengineering #planetaryscience #VeningMeineszPrize #space #research #peopleofAE

📣 #aetudelft scientist Wouter van der Wal and former PhD candidate Bas Blank contributed to groundbreaking research on global sea level rise following the last ice age. The study, published in #Nature, reveals that sea levels rose by about 1 metre per century during two phases in the early Holocene—offering crucial insights into the impact of #climatechange on ice sheets and sea levels. Using a unique dataset from the North Sea region, researchers were able to produce highly accurate estimates of global sea level change for the first time. The contribution of Wouter van der Wal and Bas Blank focused on correcting the initial measurements for the movement of the land relative to the sea, using advanced satellite-based modelling. Their work allowed for more precise estimates of past ice melt, as previous models assumed uniform Earth structure—an oversimplification. This study, involving TU Delft, Deltares, Utrecht University, and other leading institutions, provides valuable context for understanding present-day sea level rise. 🔗Read more about the study: https://lnkd.in/ejw9JtPt #tudelft #aerospaceengineering #research #publication #peopleofAE

We’re happy to give the floor to 🥁 ...👉 12 awesome colleagues and students who made this cool relay video this week to celebrate International Women’s Day! Thanks to all and to our #DEI officer Salua Hamaza in particular who came up with the initiative. 🛫 🚀 #internationalwomensday #DEI #aerospaceengineering #tudelft  

📢 On 5th of March the partners in the Airbus MultiFunctional Fuselage Demonstrator #MFFD project received their JEC Composites Innovation Award 2025 for ‘Aerospace Parts’ at the JEC World show in Paris 🏆 On behalf of our faculty and SAM XL, Aydin van den Bergh and Hein Koelman were part of this celebration of the most successful and innovative collaborative projects in the Composites industry: the ‘Nobel Prize of Composites Industry’. Lead researcher Irene Fernandez-Villegas: “Our part of the project, called STUNNING, is a great example of how we can speed up and scale up innovation on lightweight structures in aviation by real-time collaboration among researchers, students, specialists in field labs and industry. This collaboration with SAM XL, GKN Aerospace and NLR - Netherlands Aerospace Centre made it possible to successfully assemble the lower half of the fuselage here in Delft. Lightweight structures are the way forward to significantly reduce fuel consumption and therefore emissions of aviation. I am proud that our contribution is recognized and honoured by the composites industry. And want to congratulate all partners in the project with winning this ‘Nobel Prize of the composites industry.” #aetudelft #tudelft #SAMXL #sustainableaviation #composites #award #peopleofAE

📣 This afternoon, we officially launched our four new and upgraded Space Engineering labs—cutting-edge facilities designed to push the boundaries of space exploration, planetary science, and satellite technology: 💫Delft Planetary Laboratories 💫Delft Space Laboratory 💫Satellite Communications and Orbital Mechanics Lab 💫Space Instrumentation Lab   These labs provide researchers, students, and industry partners with the tools to develop innovative and #sustainable space technologies. From simulating extreme planetary environments to advancing satellite communications and space mission engineering, each lab serves a unique purpose. But what truly makes them valuable is collaboration—we look forward to working together with industry partners to shape the future of space exploration. Please reach out to the lab managers if you would like to collaborate 🤝🏼   It was great to see so many of our partners enjoying the lab tours. Thanks to everyone involved in making this launch happen! 🔗Learn more about the labs and watch the lab tour video: https://lnkd.in/evpsQUJs #aetudelft #tudelft #aerospaceengineering #spaceexploration #planetaryscience #satellitetechnology #laboratories

🚀Exciting new research from TU Delft about Mars, co-authored by Bart Root, and the Institute for Planetary Research of the German Aerospace Center, has been published in #Nature yesterday. The team has been able to determinate the Mars’s interior structure and the age of the large ice sheet covering its north pole. They used the same geophysical trick on Mars that geologists use here on Earth to: measure how large areas of land are deformed by the ice sheet that presses down on the planet itself. That in turn says a lot about the material and structure underneath all that ice. 🔎The 3-km thick ice sheet covering Mars’ north pole is young and formed 2 to 12 million years ago  🔎The ice sheet bends the rocky crust at a rate of 0.13 millimetres per year  🔎Mars’ mantle is stiff and has a viscosity ten to hundred times higher than on Earth 🔗Read more about this study: https://lnkd.in/e2zjQaSe #tudelft #aerospaceengineering #space #mars #research #publication #peopleofAE

🌱✈ Our researchers, students and start-ups are working incredibly hard to come up with innovative and realistic solutions to make aviation sustainable. The current issue of TU Delft alumni magazine Delft Matters includes a report on #sustainableaviation: ‘Technology alone will not make aviation more sustainable.’ In the article we highlight studies from the three themes: 🌱renewable energy 🌱sustainable operations 🌱materials & structures 🔗 Read the issue here: https://lnkd.in/esDQygvK 📸 SmartX sustainable aircraft wing by Davide Monteleone

✈It is not only aircraft that must be prepared for flying on hydrogen, ground operations at the airport need to run very smoothly too. Quite a challenge when considering the fuelling, space, and safety requirements. The models and simulations developed by Alexei Sharpanskykh help shape this future. “It is a complex problem, involving new designs for ground support equipment and many stakeholders such as airlines, ground handlers, maintenance staff and passengers. I enjoy exploring such novel, multidimensional concepts of operation.” 🔗Read more: https://lnkd.in/e9ah2Dpp #aetudelft #tudelft #mobilitymonday #sustainableaviation #hydrogen #groundoperations #airports #peopleofAE #storiesofAE

Congratulations to all these students for completing their DSE and for graduating last week! 🎓👏🏻🎉 The team supervised by Nathan Eskue won the first prize with their LAUNCH Ring project 🏆 The LAUNCH Ring is designed as a payload for a suborbital sounding rocket, specifically for the #tudelft DARE Team’s Stratos V, though it can be adapted for use on any suborbital launch vehicle. It can house eight microlabs, providing power, communication, and data storage for each. The microlabs are what make the project that much more unique, because each lab is designed to be an ultra-low cost, easy-to-manufacture module that is built by pre-university students. The project seeks funding to collaborate with eight Dutch schools, enabling students to design and launch experiments. Congratulations to the entire team: Dominika, Orla, Sebastian, Bas, Max, Keyan, Thomas, Bartosz, Johan, Oliver and Nathan! 🚀🎉 #aerospaceengineering #aetudelft #Delft #university #studentlife #studentsofAE #peopleofAE #designsynthesis #DSE #symposium #bachelorstudies