The IPROP project recently marked a milestone with a partner meeting hosted by the CNRS collaborators, the Fluid Mechanics Institute of Toulouse (IMFT UMR 5502) and the Plasma Physics Laboratory (LPP UMR 7648). Over two days, participants reviewed progress achieved in the first year of project implementation under the coordination of Prof. Marco Belan from Politecnico di Milano’s Department of Aerospace Science and Technology.
The meeting focused on updates from the following key activities:
- Theoretical and Numerical Modeling – Led by CNRS, it is developing foundational simulations for ion propulsion in atmospheric conditions.
- Physics of Ionic Thrusters in Laboratory – Managed by KIT-Karlsruhe Technology, it involves experiments to optimize ionic thruster performance.
- Testing Ionic Thrusters Against Environmental Conditions – Conducted at VKI-von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, it evaluates thruster robustness in varying atmospheric conditions.
Looking forward, partners discussed upcoming tasks, including:
- Design of an Ionic Propulsion Airship Demonstrator – Led by PoliMI-Politecnico di Milano, this aims to finalize a functional design for testing.
- Production and Testing of an Ionic Airship Demonstrator – Overseen by Aeronord, this stage focuses on building and testing the prototype.
- Conceptual Design of a Full-Scale Stratospheric Airship – Also managed by PoliMI, it will establish guidelines for future large-scale applications of ionic propulsion in stratospheric flight.
The transversal project management and communication activities are carried out with the support of the Fondazione Politecnico di Milano.
The meeting underscored the collaborative efforts and progress made, while setting a clear direction for the next phases of this groundbreaking project.