STFC-RCUK Innovation Fellow - Valve Exploitation

The Open University (OU) has over 30 years leading space science activities including the development of the Ptolemy instrument that took the first in situ chemical measurements on the surface of a comet, as part of the Rosetta mission. The mission captured the public's imagination and this project's PI played a key role in the design, manufacture and scientific interpretation of the results from the Ptolemy instrument. He was also a key member of the team that developed the Gas Analysis Package on Beagle2 and he is currently part of the PROSPA team developing instrumentation to for the LUNA27 mission to search form volatiles on the Moon in 2021.

A key subsystem in Ptolemy was the gas control assembly which relied on a high performance valve solution, provided by a project partner. With the future supply of the valve in jeopardy, he led the development of an innovative fluid valve technology that was patented by the OU. As with most space technologies, the USP of this valve is that has been developed as a fit-for-purpose solution that answers the scientific and operational questions set, under the tight constraints of size, mass, energy, power, whilst also making it robust and capable of operating under environmental extremes. This out-of-the-box solution has huge prospective spin-out potential both through enabling upstream (satellite-based) developments and through its application in a range of terrestrial markets 21st Century.

The main objectives for the fellow, will be to support the PI in the ongoing research and development of the valve; identify new, terrestrial applications for this space-enabled technology, whilst providing sufficient academic support necessary to achieve significant knowledge transfer and subsequent economic return for the university and UK industry and a social benefit to the UK