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Excellent Science INNOVATION
Hyperthermal atomic oxygen wind tunnel to simulate the free molecular flow in the VLEO environment
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Market Maturity: Exploring
These are innovations that are actively exploring value creation opportunities. Learn more
Market Creation Potential
This innovation was assessed by the JRC’s Market Creation Potential indicator framework as addressing the needs of existing markets and existing customers. Learn more
Women-led innovation
A woman had a leadership role in developing this innovation in at least one of the Key Innovator organisations listed below.
Location of Key Innovators developing this innovation
Key Innovators
UN Sustainable Development Goals(SDG)
This innovation contributes to the following SDG(s)
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 9
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

The UN explains: "Investments in infrastructure – transport, irrigation, energy and information and communication technology – are crucial to achieving sustainable development and empowering communities in many countries. It has long been recognized that growth in productivity and incomes, and improvements in health and education outcomes require investment in infrastructure."

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 13
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

The UN explains: "Affordable, scalable solutions are now available to enable countries to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies. The pace of change is quickening as more people are turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that will reduce emissions and increase adaptation efforts."

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 15
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat deertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

The UN explains: "Forests cover 30 per cent of the Earth’s surface and in addition to providing food security and shelter, forests are key to combating climate change, protecting biodiversity and the homes of the indigenous population. Thirteen million hectares of forests are being lost every year while the persistent degradation of drylands has led to the desertification of 3.6 billion hectares."

The EU-funded Research Project
This innovation was developed under the Horizon 2020 project DISCOVERER with an end date of 30/09/2022
  • Read more about this project on CORDIS
Description of Project DISCOVERER
We envision a radical redesign of Earth observation platforms for sustained operation at significantly lower altitudes than the current state of the art, using a combination of new aerodynamic materials, aerodynamic control and air-breathing electric propulsion for drag-compensation, for a variety of observation methods with the aim of creating a new platform paradigm. This vision requires foundational research in spacecraft aerodynamic characterization, in material aerodynamics and atomic oxygen resistance, in electric propulsion, and control methods. These activities are by their nature multidisciplinary covering atmospheric science, surface chemistry and material characterization, control engineering, spacecraft design, payload engineering, etc.

Innnovation Radar's analysis of this innovation is based on data collected on 22/06/2018.
The unique id of this innovation in the European Commission's IT systems is: 16560