The project's goal is to reduce the costs of launching a rocket and will be funded by ArianeGroup and Luxembourg's National Research Fund (FNRL).
The university wrote that the use of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen allow rocket launches to be more efficient and less toxic.
Before a rocket is launched, the so-called chill-down phase takes place to allow various components to cool down to the same temperature as the fuel. The process is a highly technically complex one and requires substantial time and effort.
There are no current models to predict an ideal chill-down phase, ArianeGroup's Dr Sebastian Stoller explained. For this reason, the group is hoping to test the components and make technical estimations with high security margins.
The test runs, in return, affect both development times and impacts costs, which is where the university partnership comes into play. The private public partnership will allow the university to work with the private group ArianeGroup to experiment with the cooling processes by using computer simulations for predictions. According to Professor Stephan Leyer, the university's team consists of thermo-analysis experts who will begin by a detailed examination of the process before developing reliable and precise methods.
The partnership is part of the university's wider development in spatial activities. As of this September, Luxembourg's brightest students will be also able to attend an interdisciplinary Space Masters programme.
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