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Rainer Groh – Aerospace Engineer and Researcher

Aerospace Engineering Podcast

Martin Eichenhofer is the CEO & co-founder of 9T Labs, a company that was spun out of ETH Zürich in Switzerland. The company specialises in providing software solutions and manufacturing equipment for producing high-quality and high-performance composite materials using 3D printing.

By marrying the worlds of composite materials and 3D printing, 9T Labs is taking advantage of the superior material properties of composite materials and combining these with the geometric fidelity facilitated by 3D printing. As a result, components that were previously unfeasible to be manufactured using composite materials, either from a technical or cost perspective, are now within the realm of the possible.

What is unique about 9T Labs is that the company combines their hardware for 3D printing composite parts with a bespoke optimisation software in order to maximise a component's performance, both in terms of structural design and manufacturing quality. Furthermore, it has been historically difficult to print continuous fibre composites at high quality with a low void content. 9T Labs, however, has patented a process that allows printing at a void content of below 1%, which competes with conventionally manufactured composites.

In this episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast, Martin and I discuss:

 his background as an engineer and how his PhD research led to 9T Labs
 the challenges and benefits of 3D printing composite materials
 9T Labs’ unique approach to 3D printing composite materials
 some of the applications the company is currently working on
 and much, much more.

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Selected Links from the Episode

 9T Labs webpage, LinkedIn
 9T Labs profile | Composites World
 Video: 3D printing for electric cars
 Helicopter door hinge case study
 ETH Zürich research lab

Podcast Ep. #49 – 9T Labs is Producing High-Performance Composite Materials Through 3D Printing

Chris Voorhees is the founder and president of First Mode, a Seattle-based company that is designing and building technology for extreme environments off and on planet Earth.

Chris has decades of experience in the implementation of robotic systems for the exploration of deep space. His notable experience includes his work as a mobility systems engineer for NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers and lead mechanical engineer for NASA's Curiosity rover. For his efforts, Chris received NASA's Exceptional Achievement and Exceptional Engineering Achievement medals.

Today, Chris oversees the design, development, and deployment of engineered solutions for missions around the globe and throughout the solar system. First Mode is also focusing on significant problems on Earth including the challenging issues of sustainability for the natural resources sector.

In this episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast, Chris and I talk about:

 his background in engineering, including his time at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
 his past work on Mars rovers
 why we should go back to the Moon
 the space projects First Mode is currently involved with
 and First Mode’s growing engagement in the hydrogen sector

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Selected Links from the Episode

 First Mode webpage, Twitter, LinkedIn
 First Mode blog
 Curiosity rover, Spirit & Opportunity rovers
 NASA Mars Perseverance rover
 NASA Psyche mission
 NASA Artemis Moon program
 Back to the Moon
 Chris' NPR interview
 Hydrogen-powered mining trucks

Podcast Ep. #48 – Engineering Complex Systems for Harsh Environments with First Mode

Carl Copeland is the founder of Möbius Aero, an electric air race team, and MμZ Motion, a developer of custom, high-performance electric motors. Carl has built various engineering teams and led innovation in the fields of IT, mechanical, magnetic, and electrical design. He has founded four companies and holds over 25 patents, and his most recent innovation, the Field Modulation Motion System, is a novel electric motor design that is significantly lighter and smaller than established electric motors of similar power and torque ratings.

The Field Modulation Motion System achieves its high performance by using 18-phase field modulation rather than the three-phase modulation used in standard motors, essentially emulating six separate three-phase motors attached to a single shaft. Carl is putting his new engine design to the test in a new air racing series for electric aircraft known as Air Race E.

In contrast to typical air racing series, in Air Race E aircraft race against each other on a course rather than flying isolated time trials. In the past, air races have been an invaluable means of developing aerospace technology in a competitive setting and Air Race E is re-awakening the spirit of competition by launching the first fully electric airplane race series. In this episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast, Carl and I talk about:

 his unique and auto-didactic background in engineering
 his goal of finding practical solutions to humanity's problems
 the Air Race E competition and the origin story of Carl’s racing team Möbius Aero
 the technical details and benefits of his new electric motor
 and the impact this has on airframe development

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Selected Links from the Episode

 Möbius Aero and MμZ Motion webpage
 Möbius YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn
 Carl speaks to Airbus about Team Möbius
 Air Race E webpage
 Talk on Air Race E | Royal Aero Society
 Electric vs combustion engines | Airbus

Podcast Ep. #47 – Möbius Aero and MμZ Motion: a Winning Team for Electric Air Racing

Dr Evangelos Zympeloudis is the CEO and co-founder of iCOMAT, a company based in the UK that is developing automated manufacturing equipment for tow-steered composites. Fibre-reinforced plastics, such as carbon-fibre or glass-fibre composites, hold great promise for high-performance and lightweight design due to their excellent stiffness and strength properties at low material density. Traditional fibre-reinforced plastics are manufactured using straight uni-directional fibres or with straight fibres woven into a fabric.

Generally speaking, a fibre-reinforced composite derives its strength by aligning the fibres with the direction of the dominant load path. The novelty of tow-steered composites is that strips of composite material, so-called fibre tows, are steered along curvilinear paths such that the fibre direction is not straight, but varies continuously from point to point. This characteristic has benefits in structural design as the reinforcing fibres can now be used to smoothly tailor stiffness and strength throughout the structure. For example, tow-steered composites can be used to curve the reinforcing fibres around windows in an aircraft fuselage in order to improve strength and facilitate net-shape manufacturing.

In this episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast, Evangelos and I talk about:

 his background as an engineer and entrepreneur
 the manufacturing challenge of making defect-free tow-steered composites
 the capabilities of iCOMAT’s rapid tow-shearing process
 the benefits of tow-steering for manufacturing cost and design
 and some of the projects iCOMAT is currently working on

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Disclosure: I currently work with iCOMAT on a number of projects and am a consultant to the company.

Selected Links from the Episode

 iCOMAT webpage, LinkedIn
 iCOMAT's technology
 Video of the Rapid Tow-Shearing process
 Tow-steered composites overview:

 Current state-of-the-art
 Future possibilities

Podcast Ep. #46 – Tow-Steered Composite Materials with iCOMAT

Stefan Brieschenk is the Chief Operating Officer of Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), a company in the south of Germany that is developing a low-cost launch vehicle. RFA’s vision is to drastically reduce the cost of access to space through large-scale industrialisation of their operations and manufacturing.

Key to RFA's design approach is a holistic performance and cost optimisation tool that has been developed in collaboration with space industry veterans MT Aerospace and OHB. This approach has led to interesting design choices. For example, the second stage tank is based on inexpensive stainless steel construction, and in places where composite materials are being used, RFA is relying on automotive grade materials that have already been used in high-volume production. In their propulsive system, however, RFA is chasing the highest performance—a closed-cycle staged combustion engine, enabled by modern manufacturing capabilities in 3D printing and which is due to be hot-fired early next year.

In this episode of the Aerospace Engineering podcast, Stefan and I talk about:

 Stefan’s passion for rocketry and hypersonic flight
 his background at Rocket Lab and MT Aerospace
 the gap between the European and US space sectors
 RFA’s launch vehicle and design approach
 and Stefan’s vision for the European space sector

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Selected Links from the Episode

 RFA webpage, LinkedIn, Twitter
 Launch vehicle
 Partners: MT Aerospace & OHB
 Ten questions for RFA
 Staged combustion engine
 In the news:

 Launch site in Andøya
 ESA support for RFA

Podcast Ep. #45 – Industrialising Rocket Science with Rocket Factory Augsburg

Marc Ausman is the co-founder and CEO of Airflow, a California-based startup that is building an electric short-haul cargo aircraft. Marc holds a commercial pilot license, and among other endeavours, was previously the Chief Strategist for Airbus’ all-electric, tilt-wing vehicle demonstrator known as Vahana. Alongside four other former Vahana team members, Marc and the team at Airflow are building an aerial logistics network to move short-haul cargo quickly and cost effectively by using unused airspace around cities.

Key to Airflow’s vision is electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL). Airflow's eSTOL aircraft require only a few hundred feet for takeoff and landing—about the length of a football field—which means that runways can be built almost anywhere, even under existing regulations. What is more, even larger rooftops that can fit more than three conventional helipads could feasibly be used as a runway. Given the aerodynamic efficiency advantages of fixed-wing aircraft over rotary vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, Airflow have come-up with an interesting alternative concept to many other companies in the growing urban mobility sector.

So in this episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast, Marc and I talk about:

 Airflow’s vision of building the urban logistics network of the future
 some of the misconceptions of eSTOL and eVTOL
 the advantages of electric powertrains beyond reducing emissions
 the technology Airflow is developing and challenges that need to be overcome
 and striking a balance between financial and engineering incentives

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Selected Links from the Episode

 Airflow webpage, Twitter, LinkedIn
 eSTOL as an enabler for urban logistics
 Subscale modelling
 Enabling technologies for eSTOL

Podcast Ep. #44 – Airflow is Building an eSTOL Aircraft for Middle-Mile Logistics

Dr John Williams is an engineer at Lumentum where he works on the extreme challenges of sub-millimetre scale photonic circuits. For the purpose of this conversation, however, we will be discussing John’s former role as a design engineer at Reaction Engines, a UK company that is developing the Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine, also known as SABRE.

The vision of SABRE is to build a new hypersonic engine that can operate both as an air-breathing jet engine and as a traditional rocket. This versatility means SABRE can be used as a propulsive platform for future hypersonic aircraft or to propel space planes into orbit. Furthermore, SABRE combines the unique fuel efficiency of a jet engine with the power and high-speed ability of a rocket. Having started at Reaction Engines early on when there were only two people in the design office, and later founding his own design and manufacturing company, John has many years of high-tech experience in the aerospace sector.

In this episode of the Aerospace Engineering podcast, John and I talk about:

 his background as an aerospace engineer
 the benefits of an air-breathing rocket engine
 the particular design challenges in realising this type of engine
 and his lessons learned from high-tech development

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Selected Links from the Episode

 Reaction Engines webpage
 The SABRE engine: REL, WIRED, Wikipedia
 Precooler test at Mach 5
 The Three Rocketeers BBC documentary
 Lecture by Alan Bond, co-founder of Reaction Engines
 Carbon nanotube composites

Podcast Ep. #43 – Dr John Williams on Air-Breathing Rocket Engines

Dr Sanjiv Singh is a research professor at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University and the CEO of Near Earth Autonomy. Sanjiv has more than 30 years of research experience in the field of autonomous vehicles and has spun-out multiple companies from his university research.

His current venture, Near Earth Autonomy, develops technology that allows aircraft to autonomously take-off, fly, and land safely, with or without GPS. Near Earth's goal is to develop complete autonomous solutions that improve efficiency, performance, and safety for aircraft ranging from small drones up to full-size helicopters. The team at Near Earth was awarded the 2018 Howard Hughes Award, which recognises outstanding improvements in fundamental helicopter technology, and was also a 2017 finalist for the Collier Trophy, one of the most important aviation awards worldwide. In this episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast, Sanjiv and I talk about:

 his background as a researcher in the field of robotics and autonomy
 the fundamental concepts of autonomy
 the hardware and software that make it work
 the successful helicopter technology demonstrator Near Earth Autonomy has developed
 and the future of autonomous vehicles

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Selected Links from the Episode

 Near Earth Autonomy webpage, Twitter & YouTube
 Dr Sanjiv Singh's TEDx talk
 Near Earth collaborates with Kaman | Vertical
 Public perception of autonmous flying | WIRED
 Lidar vs cameras vs radar | WIRED

Podcast Ep. #42 – Autonomous Helicopters with Near Earth Autonomy

In this episode I am speaking to Aaron Daniel and Peter Shpik of Alpine Advanced Materials. Alpine Advanced Materials specialises in the design and manufacture of custom-engineered parts and products for demanding aerospace and energy applications. The company is currently commercialising a high-performance material known as HX5™, which is a thermoplastic nanocomposite originally developed by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® over a decade of testing and validation.

HX5™ was originally developed to replace aluminum at half the weight but with the same strength and stiffness. On top of that HX5™ has excellent durability in harsh environments such as in outer space, in radioactive settings or around aggressive chemicals. As a result, this new nanocomposite material is already being used on jet fighters, high-speed helicopters, UAVs, rockets, and satellites. In this episode of the aerospace engineering podcast Aaron, Peter and I talk about:

 the importance of lightweighting in the aerospace industry
 the development history of HX5™
 what exactly HX5™ is and its unique properties
 where and how HX5™ is currently being used

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Selected Links from the Episode

 Alpine Advanced Materials webpage, Twitter & LinkedIn
 HX5™ white paper
 HX5™ case studies
 What is a nanocomposite?

Podcast Ep. #41 – Alpine Advanced Materials and the Ultralight Nanocomposite Material HX5™

In this episode I am speaking to Damian Jamroz and Grzegorz Marzec of the Polish NewSpace company SatRevolution. The company was founded in 2016 and specialises in real-time earth observation for civilian and military applications.

SatRevolution has launched three satellites to date, with the last launch occurring at the beginning of September 2020 on an Arianespace Vega rocket, while the next one is planned for December 2020 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. These satellites are all milestones towards building an Earth-observation constellation that will be operational from 2023.

Recently, SatRevolution has focused on developing the STORK platform, which is scheduled to be launched in June 2021. The goal of STORK is to develop a shared-services capability so that multiple satellites can be launched within one platform and benefit from SatRevolution's Earth-observation capabilities. Hence, SatRevolution will focus on designing, manufacturing and integrating the platform satellite, while their customers and external partners can focus on work related to development of their own technologies and experiments. In this wide-ranging episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast we talk about:

 the history of SatRevolution
 why Earth-observation satellites are such a hot topic at the moment
 the details of SatRevolution's previous satellites and the upcoming STORK mission
 how SatRevolution is using AI for earth observation
 and what the future holds for the company.

This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by my patrons on Patreon. Patreon is a way for me to receive regular donations from listeners whenever I release a new episode, and with the help of these generous donors I have been able to pay for much of the expenses, hosting and travels costs that accrue in the production of this podcast. If you would like to support the podcast as a patron, then head over to my Patreon page. There are multiple levels of support, but anything from $1 an episode is highly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Selected Links from the Episode

 SatRevolution webpage, Twitter & LinkedIn
 The STORK platform:

 Capabilities
 Press Release

 Earth-observation satellites
 SatRevolution's previous missions
 SatRevolution partners with Momentus (previously on this podcast)

Podcast Ep. #40 – Earth-observation Satellite Constellations with SatRevolution

I am happy and excited to announce a new project on the Aerospace Engineering Blog. To go along with the usual blog posts, I will now be releasing regular podcast episodes that feature conversations with engineers and researchers in industry and academia to reveal their fascinating real-world stories of innovation, and provide a glimpse into the future of the industry by discussing cutting-edge research and promising new technologies. This episode is just a quick primer of what I have in mind, and the first "real" episode will be released in a couple of days.

If you have comments about the episodes or want to provide general feedback on the podcast, then please let me know on Facebook. If you find yourself enjoying the conversations, then I would appreciate a quick review on iTunes or Stitcher. This helps others find the podcast online. I will of course be publishing all episodes through this homepage as well, and you will receive notifications when I publish new episodes through the newsletter.

You will be able to find archives of all published episodes here, and each episode post will contain show notes with links to further material of the topics discussed.

If you enjoy the Aerospace Engineering Podcast you can support it by leaving a review on iTunes or by becoming a patron.

Introducing the Aerospace Engineering Podcast

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