Problem Definition: Current LCA methods are not tailored to space activities and exhibit major methodological gaps in modelling the environmental impacts of rocket and satellite launch or re-entry emissions. Time- and location-dependent Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods are either missing or incomplete, and a holistic framework for transparent and reproducible LCA studies in the space sector is lacking.
Research Objectives:
- Develop a novel scientific LCA framework to quantify environmental impacts and trade-offs of rocket launches, artificial re-entries, and the broader space sector This includes uncertainty assessment and robustness rating, system design optimisation, prospective and dynamic LCA for future human activities related to space
- Contributions to space-tailored LCIA method development or extension in close collaboration with aerospace engineers, atmospheric and climate scientists working on atmospheric emissions related to launch and re-entry activities, as well as dynamic/prospective LCA
- Quantification and optimization of life-cycle related environmental impacts in the atmosphere, based on the findings of other DCs and the novel methodology
Expected Results:
- Newly developed, python-based space LCA methodological framework, allowing setting up robust, realistic and reproducible models of environmental impacts related to rocket launches and re-entries of launchers or satellites and the whole space sector
- Trade-offs between system design choices and optimised environmental performance
- LCIA methods tailored to the space sector, including new and/or updated impact categories
- Open-source notebooks and software framework supporting full LCA studies in the space sector
Secondments:
- Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium in Davos (PMOD, Davos, Switzerland, ca. 3 months): exchange on metric how to measure environmental impacts from launch and re-entry related atmospheric particle emissions with the goal to develop a new LCIA method or extend existing methods
- Deimos Engineering and Systems SLU (DES, Puertollano, Spain, ca. 3 months): In-depth knowledge of launcher configurations, architectures and systems design with a view on ecodesign
Main Supervisor:
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