HEDGE-2: Hypersonic Reentry Deployable Glider Experiment 2; The Growing Impact of Orbital Debris on the Future of Space Technology 21 views

The final frontier of humanity, outer space, becomes increasingly accessible with each passing day. With this growing ease of access, my capstone team is engaging in low-cost research of hypersonic conditions, a field typically locked behind high costs, land use, and fuel consumption. Hypersonic conditions, created when vehicles travel at five times the speed of sound, create environments where the molecular structures on the surface may change in intriguing ways, and understanding these conditions enough to safely travel at these extreme speeds is especially to national defense and military agencies as well as aircraft manufacturers interested in bringing this technology to civilian air travel. However, this ease of access may also come at a significant cost. As more satellites and orbital objects are launched and left in orbit irresponsibly, the orbital debris remaining will begin to make the maintenance of satellites even harder. My STS thesis focuses on the social aspects and technical innovations being made in reducing the amount of space debris and ensuring maintenance of hazard-free orbital environments. Increasing responsibility falls on multiple actors, such as politicians, engineers, and spacefaring agencies, in creating a network of practices that maintain a clean orbit and prevent buildup.

BS (Bachelor of Science)

Hypersonics; Orbital Debris; Aerospace

School of Engineering and Applied Science Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering Technical Advisor: Chris Goyne, Michael McPherson STS Advisor: Pedro Augusto Pereira Francisco Technical Team Members: Elizabeth Armstrong, Olivia Sauber, Hannah Soberman, Gaby Flores, Zachary Davis, Rishika Deshmukh, Saba Niknam, Nand Patel, Humza Rubel, Tristan Scott, Logan Tolbert, Edison Wong, Christian Wright

English

All rights reserved by the author (no additional license for public reuse)

2026-05-01