STFC-RCUK Innovation Fellow - Valve Exploitation

30多年来，开放大学在空间科学活动方面处于领先地位，包括开发托勒密仪器，作为罗塞塔使命的一部分，该仪器首次对彗星表面进行了现场化学测量。该使命抓住了公众的想象力，该项目的PI在设计，制造和科学解释托勒密仪器的结果中发挥了关键作用。他也是在Beagle 2上开发气体分析包的团队的关键成员，他目前是PROSPA团队的一员，为LUNA 27使命开发仪器，以在2021年搜索月球上的挥发物。Ptolemy的一个关键子系统是气体控制组件，它依赖于项目合作伙伴提供的高性能阀门解决方案。随着阀门的未来供应处于危险之中，他领导了一项创新的流体阀技术的开发，该技术已获得美国专利局的专利。与大多数空间技术一样，该阀门的USP是作为一种适用的解决方案而开发的，该解决方案在尺寸，质量，能量，功率的严格限制下回答了科学和操作问题，同时还使其坚固耐用，能够在极端环境下运行。这种开箱即用的解决方案具有巨大的前景分拆潜力，无论是通过使上游（基于卫星）的发展，并通过其在一系列地面市场的应用世纪。该研究员的主要目标是支持PI正在进行的阀门研究和开发;确定这种空间技术的新的地面应用，同时提供必要的足够学术支持，以实现重大的知识转移和随后的经济回报，为大学和英国工业以及英国的社会效益

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