Under an ESA sustainability mandate, the consortium is developing TPSea, a disruptive ablative material composed of wood and seagrass fibers designed to replace non-renewable thermal protection systems (TPS). Unlike conventional materials, TPSea can bear up to six times the mechanical load, allowing it to function as a primary or secondary spacecraft structure to reduce overall vehicle weight. The project aims to advance the material from TRL 4-5 to 5+ by integrating TU Dresden’s material science with DLR’s high-enthalpy testing and PSI’s specialized space-sector LCA frameworks. This transition supports the ESA Green Agenda by benchmarking the environmental benefits of bio-based composites against traditional aerospace materials over a 5-10 year scaling horizon.
The project runs within the frame of ESA’s call “FIRST! Technologies in sustainability: Improving environmental sustainability for future space transportation”.
Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) are key in the space sector for successul launch and low-impact re-entry of satellites. TU Dresden researchers have developed TPSea, a novel 100% bio-derived ablative thermal protection system (TPS) composed of wood and seagrass fibres, optimized for use in high-enthalpy re-entry conditions At the Chair of Wood Technology and Fiber Materials Engineering and the Chair of Space Systems at TU Dresden, the use of wood and cork in space applications was investigated by the applicant in two joint study projects TPSea and TPSea2, which identified the research gap for the product idea – bio-based thermal protection system with high mechanical properties. Notably, TPSea can absorb up to six times the mechanical load then ablative TPS and the material recipe can be optimised to its concrete field of application. This means that the material can be used not only for super-ficial applications to structures, but also for secondary or even primary structures. This saves additional material from non-renewable raw materials, reduces weight, and allows for a rethink-ing of space vehicle design. This project will mature this disruptive, bio-based TPS from TRL 4-5 to a validated TRL 5+ more sustainable TPS through application-oriented material adaptation, qualification and testing for adaptability to spacecraft structures as well as analyzing the demisability potential and environmental benefit (TU Dresden).
The project partner DLR will test the various material recipes in their arc heated test facilities (Lichtbogenbeheizter Windkanal)
PSI will use its in-house, open LCA software Brightway as well as the package “premise” to perform prospective assessment of future use of TPSea in the space sector after reaching a higher TRL and scaling up in 5-10 years. This includes namely the quantification of environmental impacts related to the production of TPSea according to various recipes as provided by TUD on the one hand and benchmarking TPSea use cases with conventional thermal protection systems used in space. Limited availability of data on high-altitude emissions introduces uncertainty in absolute sustainability metrics, but the analysis will still enable relative benchmarking and highlight key improvement areas. PSI has gained significant and leading expertise in space-related LCA in the past years through projects funded by ESA and collaboration with stakeholders in Europe. It is spearheading the development of the LCA methodology, which has already been used by ESA - amongst others in the underlying FIRST! call.
The consortium, led by Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), unites pioneers in sustainable space materials research with key collaborators from the space tailored LCA (Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI)) and space material qualification via wind tunnel testing (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)).
Through the convergence of material science, space engineering, life cycle analysis principles, and wind tunnel testing, the TU Dresden-led team stands uniquely positioned to advance the maturity of bio-based thermal protection materials. Their collective aim is to establish a new class of sustainable, high-performance composites for space transportation, aligning with ESA’s Green Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, while fostering European leadership in sustainable aerospace innovation.
Associated Researchers
| Personne | Position | Phone Nr. | Courriel |
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| Karin Treyer | Researcher
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| Dr. Peter Burgherr | Group Leader
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Partner Institutions
- Technical University Dresden (TUD)
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)
Funding
- European Space Agency (ESA)