NEWS & EVENTS

• 31th May 2023, A.del Pino, S.Garcia, and G.Sharifi presented their ongoing activity in the E.T.PACK-F project during the doctoral meeting at UC3M University. A.del Pino presented a mission analysis using the Bare-Photovoltaic tether, S.Garcia explain about the avionic system of the De-orbit device, and G.Sharifi presented the mission operational control of E.T.PACK-F project.

• In May 2023 the E.T.PACK-F Team celebrates the 30th anniversary of the seminal article that introduced the bare tether concept “Bare Wire Anodes for Electrodynamic Tether” by three Spanish Aerospace Egineers: Profs. J. Sanmartín, M. Martinez-Sánchez and E. Ahedo. The AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power gives free access to the article during May 2023 at this link. The image below show a sample of bare tether used in the E.T.PACK-F project.

• 17th May 2023, Enrico Lorenzini chaired a Session on “Building a Cleaner Space” at the Space Meetings Veneto held in Venice on 15-17/05/2023 with the participation of Lorenzo Tarabini from Sener and Stella Tkatchova from the EIC. The conference had more than 1000 participants. Carlo Bettanini and Giacomo Colombatti, also from the E.T.PACK UNIPD, were among the conference organizers. Find it here.

• 12th May 2023, Project Coordinator visited Gerardo Diego school in Leganes. He talked with the kids about the space debris problem and the tether solution. In the image, he shows tether deployment under the watchful eye of a future aerospace engineer, who tenderly hugs the E.T.PACK mascot.

• 21th April 2023, Martin Tajmar published a paper regarding the feasibility study of the Bare-Photovoltaic-Tether Concept. The bare-photovoltaic-tether (BPT) concept combines the bare tether electron collection with a tether segment, coated with thin film Copper Indium Gallium Selenide solar cells to harvest additional power for the cathodic contact, potentially enabling propellant-less operation. Find it here.
• 18th April 2023, A. Brunello had a presentation entitled ”Space debris mitigation using E.T.PACK: a compact electrodynamic tether system for deorbiting” at the COSPAR conference at the Technological University of Singapore.
• 17th April 2023, A. del Pino, who is developing his Ph.D. in the framework of E.T.PACK, attends the International Congress of Ph.D. Students in Aerospace Science and Engineering in Bologna, Italy.

• 13th-15th April 2023, The first project meeting of the E.T.PACK-F project was celebrated at the SENER premises.

• 23th March 2023, Lorenzo Tarabini attended the Oficina de Infiltrados podcast. In that episode, he talked about space debris and the E.T.PACK Initiative as an effective solution for this problem. Find it here.
• 2nd February 2023, Lorenzo Tarabini presents the E.T.PACK Initiative in Comando Actualidad, a programme of the Spanish national Television TVE. Find the interview here.
• 26th January 2023, G. Sanchez-Arriaga attends the Space Info Days of the EIC. He pitches a 3-minute presentation about the E.T.PACK Initiative and roadmap in relation with next EIC calls.
• 24th January 2023, Lorenzo Tarabini and G. Sánchez Arriaga attend the webinar “Licensing as Exit Strategy for EIC Beneficiaries”.
• 19th January 2023, UC3M, TUD, SENER Aeroespacial and UNIPD presents the Status of the E.T.PACK Initiative (E.T.PACK, E.T.PACK-F, and BMOM projects) at ESA/ESTEC.
• 19th January 2023, UC3M, TUD, SENER Aeroespacial and UNIPD, presents at ESA/ESTEC the results of the Bare-Photovoltaic Tether Project in the Final Meeting.
• 7th-8th December 2022, Lorenzo Tarabini presents the E.T.PACK and the E.T.PACK-F Projects at the EIC Summit 2022. In the image, Stela Tkatchova (EIC Programme Manager for space systems and technologies, left ), Elisa Failla (Project Officer, center), and Lorenzo Tarabini (Leader of the E.T.PACK and the E.T.PACK-F projects at SENER Aeroespacial, right).

• 30th November. The E.T.PACK ends succesfully and the goal of developing a 12U deorbit device with TRL4 has been accomplished. Bye bye E.T.PACK and welcomed E.T.PACK-F ! Next challenge: A Ready-to-Fly deorbit device (TRL 8).

• 30th November: The E.T.PACK team member Sadaf Shahsavani defended successfully her PhD thesis entitled “Modelling and Mission Analysis of Low Work-Function Tethers. Congratulations Sadaf !!!

• 24th and 25th November: E.T.PACK Team celebrates the Final Meeting of the E.T.PACK Project in Madrid.

• 21th November: The E.T.PACK team member Luca chiabó defended successfully his PhD thesis entitled “Emissive Langmuir Probe Theory with Application to Low Work Function Electrodynamic Tethers“. Congratulations Luca !!!

• 5th Nov 2022: Lorenzo Tarabini (SENER) and Gonzalo Sánchez Arriaga (UC3M) are interviewed on the Spanish Television NEOX for the program Hazte Eco. Find the interview here.

• 5th Oct 2022: The very 1st EUeic Podcast with an EIC Programme Manager and 2 members of the E.T.PACK team to discuss how innovation can tackle the issue of space debris. Listen now.

• 30th Sep 2022: The project E.T.PACK is presented to the public at the event Science for All organized by the University of Padova on the European Researchers’ Night.

• 27th Sep 2022: Chiabò (UC3M) presents the E.T.PACK project in an episode of the Bola de Cristal Podcast.

• List of prizes and awards received by the E.T.PACK team at UNIPD in the last three years:
  – 22th Sep 2022: Alice Brunello finalist at the International Astronautical Congress for the Luigi G. Napolitano Prize, Paris.
  – 9th Feb 2021: Best Presentation Award at the International Conference on Space Debris to Giulia Sarego, Amsterdam.
  – 28th Feb 2020: Best Paper Award at the Conference Aerospace Europe Conference to Andrea Valmorbida, Bordeaux.

• 3rd-15th Sep 2022: “800 Years of Space in Padova”, a public exhibit at the University of Padua where the E.T.PACK project is presented.

• E.T.PACK Team celebrates the 9th Project Meeting at TUD in Dresden, June 9th-10th, 2022.

• June 7th, 2022: The E.T.PACK project is presented in the 65th Session of COPUOS 2022 at United Nations headquarter in Vienna. This @EUeic project is developing a deorbit device based on electrodynamic tether technology.

• May 17th, 2022: The European Innovation Council supports E.T. PACK-Fly, a project to mitigate space debris, published by UC3M. Find out more here.

• The E.T.PACK team heartfelt thank Dr. Giulia Sarego for her work in the project and wish her all every success in her new position. Keep us in touch Giulia !!

• April 27th, 2022, E.T.PACK Coordinator is invited to EIC-EUSPA Workshop to deliver a talk about the project. Find out more on Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook.

• UC3M team members with the E.T.PACK’s mascot prepared by Dr. Giulia Sarego. We sincerely thank Giulia for this wonderful gift!! 

• March 4th, 2022, Lorenzo Tarabini, System Engineer at SENER Aeroespacial is interviewed in Spanish broadcasters TVE1. Find the interview here.

• The #EUeic spoke with the Coordinator of the E.T.PACK project. Find here the video.

• January 31st, 2022, E.T.PACK Coordinator is interviewed in the article ” El basurero espacial” , published in the newspaper “HERALDO”. Find the article here.

• January 19th, 2022, E.T.PACK Coordinator is interviewed in the article ” Un ‘ancla’ para acabar con la basura espacial” , published in the newspaper “EL CORREO”. Find the article here.

• December 20th, 2021: E.T.PACK group in the University of Padova is interviewed by the Italian Newspaper “Il Messaggero. Find the article here.

• December 13-16th 2021, Lorenzo Tarabini, System Engineer at SENER Aeroespacial, and Gonzalo Sánchez-Arriaga, professor at UC3M and Coordinator of the E.T.PACK project, presented the workshop “Propellant-less Orbital Mobility Device” in the World Satellite Business Week, the annual rendez-vous for every leader from the global satellite connectivity and information business, held in Paris. Find the brochure of the workshop here.

• December 15th, 2021: G. Sánchez-Arriaga presents E.T.PACK in the workshop “B2B PTE Distrupte” promoted by the Plataforma Tecnológica Española de Tecnologías Disruptivas.

• December 1st, 2021: Article in Scientific America about “Space tethers demonstrate deorbit capability”, gives some news on the E.T.PACK project. Find out more here.

• November 30th, 2021: G. Sánchez-Arriaga presents the talk “State of the art of electrodynamic tether technology” for Los Alamos National Laboratory.

• November 29th, 2021, E.T.PACK Coordinator is interviewed in the article ” El ingenio español propulsa la sostenibilidad en una economía espacial en auge” , published in the newspaper “ABC economía”. Find the article here.

• October 29th, 2021, European Innovation Council (EIC) published an article about the E.T.PACK: Innovative technology has the potential to revolutionize the space debris challenge. Find the article here. Mercedes Ruiz (SENER) and Gonzalo Sánchez-Arriaga (E.T.PACK coordinator) presented the E.T.PACK project at the  European Innovation Council Summit on 24-25 November 2021. We thank the EIC for giving us the opportunity to present our project and the effort made organizing the event. Find the presentation here.

• October 26th, 2021, SENER Aeroespacial and Rocket Factory Augsburg sign a launch agreement for E.T.PACK’s deorbit device. Find more about it here. 

• September 30th, 2021, Lorenzo Tarabini and Sergio García González explain the ecological challenge in space and the E.T.PACK project in Radio Nacional de España. Find the interview here.

• September 24th the UNIPD-CISAS “Giuseppe Colombo” research center introduces the E.T.PACK project in the Public Event at the University of Padova called “VenetoNight”: the night of researchers.  Find the video here.

• E.T.PACK Team celebrates the 8th Project Meeting at UniPD in Padua, September 23th-24th, 2021.

• August 30th, 2021, E.T.PACK Coordinator is interviewed in the programme Siglo 21, Radio 3. Find the interview here.

• May 15th, 2021, E.T.PACK Coordinator is interviewed in the article ” Basura espacial: la guerra de satélites satura las órbitas” , published in the daily newspaper “ABC”. Find the article here.

• April 21st, 2021, Lorenzo Tarabini explains the E.T.PACK project in Telediario 1, the news programme of the Spanish National Television (TVE). Find the video here.

• April 14th, 2021, E.T.PACK Coordinator appears in the programme El Gallo que no Cesa of Radio Nacional de España. Find the audio here. 

• April 9th, 2021, E.T.Pack project appears in the daily newspaper “El País”. Features of the project, including its potential impact and the development plan of the deorbit device, are emphasized. Find the news link here.

• March 17th, 2021, E.T.PACK Coordinator appears at the News of the Spanish TV Channel La Sexta.

• March 9th, 2021, An interview with G. Sánchez-Arriaga (UC3M) and Lorenzo Tarabini (SENER) about the E.T.PACK project in “La Tarde”, a Radio Programme of Cadena COPE (Spanish Radio Station). Find the interview here.

• February 23th, 2021, E.T.PACK Coordinator has been interviewed in the Spanish radio show “Hoy por Hoy Madrid” from Cadena Ser. The interview is available at the link (minute 47 of the show).

• Aerospace PhD-Days: The first PhD day of European students in Aerospace Engineering was organized by AIDAA, the Italian Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics on 15th-17th February 2021. After a century from the foundation, AIDAA wished to celebrate its centennial by collecting together the PhD students in Aerospace engineering from Universities and research centers of Europe, for the first time. The PhD students had the possibilities to share their activities to all the colleague in Europe and, thus, to create a net of the European young researchers. PhD students from UC3M attended the meeting to present “Low work-Function Tethers for Deorbiting Satellite at End-of-Life ”. Find the presentation here [3:24:30-3:41:10].

• After finishing the design and procurement phases, SENER has started today the lab activities on the avionic system of the deorbit kit.

• E.T.PACK Team celebrates the sixth Project Meeting online, January 13th-14th, 2021.

• E.T.PACK Team celebrates the fifth Project Meeting online, September 21st-22nd, 2020.

• E.T.PACK Team celebrates the fourth Project Meeting online, June 11th-12th, 2020.

• Online Seminar about “Orbital Debris and its Mitigation” was given to the students of the Galilelian School of Superior Studies (SGSS) by Enrico Lorenzini from University of Padova (UniPD) on 29 April 2020.

• Several members of E.T.PACK participated in an Innovation Opportunity Workshop organized by experts of the FET project Briefing. The workshop allowed identifying and analyzing the priority aspects to develop the long-term goals and roadmap of E.T.PACK. The consortium thanks the Briefing‘s team for this kind opportunity.

• As part of the research and innovation community, the E.T.PACK team is committed with the important challenge of contributing to the global efforts against Coronavirus. We encourage to visit the website of the research and innovation coronavirus response of the European Commission.

• E.T.Pack partner at Dresden University of Technology successfully ran the C12A7 hollow cathode thruster for the first time.

• The following E.T.Pack paper received the Best Paper Award in the Space Session of the conference:
  G. Sarego, L. Olivieri, A. Valmorbida, A. Brunello, E. C. Lorenzini, L. Tarabini Castellani, E. Urgoiti, A. Ortega, G. Borderes-Motta and G. Sánchez-Arriaga, “Deployment Requirements for Deorbiting Electrodynamic Tether Technology”, Presented at the Aerospace Europe Conference AEC2020 – Clean Sky, 25-28 February 2020, Bordeaux, France.

• The Project Coordinator visited Gerardo Diego school in Leganes. Using several experiments and games he explained to 5-years old kids the space debris problem and the tether solution.

• E.T.PACK Team celebrates the third Project Meeting in SENER Madrid, January 23th-24th,2020.

• November 25, 2019, An interview with G. Sánchez-Arriaga (UC3M) and Lorenzo Tarabini (SENER) about the E.T.PACK project in “A Golpe de Bit”, a Radio Programme in Radio Exterior de España. Find the interview at here.

• November 14, 2019, An interview with G. Sánchez-Arriaga (UC3M) and Lorenzo Tarabini (SENER) about the E.T.PACK project in “Radar 3.0”, a Radio Programme in Radio Nacional de España.

• November 12 and 14, 2019, E.T.PACK Exposition in “Semana de la Ciencia de Madrid” at Rey Pastor Building at  UC3M: The exposition includes 5 poster, a booth, a video, one experiment to play with the Lorentz force and some hardware elements like an electrodynamic tether.

• November 4, 2019: Article in Scientific America  about TEPCE, a challenging mission by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, mentions the E.T.PACK project, find out more here.

• E.T.PACK Team celebrates the second Project Meeting in IKTS Fraunhofer, September 26th-27th,2019.

• The VenetoNight: Researcher’s Night took place at the University of Padova (UniPD) and other universities in the region on September 27th, 2019. The event goes on for a full day till late evening in the historical courtyard of the universities with stands from different departments of UniPD. The event has a wide attendance from the general public; Padova is an old University town with 62000 students. The video of E.T.PACK was projected continually on TV screens at the stand of UniPD–CISAS. 

• UC3M hosts the International Conference on Tethers in Space (TiS 2019 12-14 June). This conference is a great opportunity for sharing the last advances in tether technology and bring together space tether community, including researchers, space agencies and industry. Visit the website of the conference at http://eventos.uc3m.es/go/TiS2019.

• Pedro Duque, Spanish Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Marina Grossi, daughter of one of the fathers of the electrodynamic tether concept Mario Grossi, and Juan Jose Vaquero, UC3M Vice Chancellor of Science Policy, joined the Conference Dinner of the International Conference on tethers in Space hosted by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid from 12-14 June, 2019.

• E.T.PACK team has attended the EIC Pathfinder Event that took place on 19 June in Bucharest and is co-organised by the European Commission and the Romanian Presidency as part of the Innovative Enterprise Week series of events.