atlanTTic graduate publishes the first doctoral thesis in the University of Vigo’s Aerospace Engineering area

Uxía García was a member of the first graduating class (2016-2020) of the Ourense campus’ School of Aeronautical and Space Engineering and a member of the Aerospace Technologies Research Group atlanTTic, part of the CIGUS Network, an initiative launched by the regional government (Xunta de Galicia) that groups together centres of accredited scientific excellence within the Galician university system. She is also the author of the University of Vigo’s first doctoral thesis in the area of aerospace engineering. Her work centred on the thermo-elastic study of the pointing platform for space telescopes.

The thesis, which was presented last week on the Ourense campus, was written under the auspices of the University of Vigo’s International Doctoral School and the Doctoral Programme in Aerospace Technology: Electromagnetic, Electronic, Computer and Mechanical Engineering, and was supervised by Fernando Aguado, director of the doctoral programme, and Fermín Navarro.

Since completing her first degree, this aerospace engineer, the first graduate of the University of Vigo’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering to undertake a PhD in this academic institution, has been collaborating with the Aerospace Technologies Research Group, with a scholarship awarded by the Galician regional government (Xunta de Galicia). “At first I was working mainly on tasks related to the European WiPTherm project, aimed at integrating an innovative Wireless Energy Transfer (WET) device on board a CubeSat 3U”, Uxía explained. This work provided her with a solid grounding in space systems, and also in conducting experimental validation campaigns for both vibrations and thermal vacuums. “Over time, I had the chance to participate in other projects, such as the development of several thermoelastic analyses for the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics, which led to my thesis,” the researcher explained.

Improving satellite engineering

As for the content of her thesis, Uxía explained that “the aerospace industry is undergoing a change of paradigm marked by a decrease in launch costs and standardisation of small satellites”. In this context, her research focused on “closing the technological gap in the precision pointing of satellites to enhance their capabilities”. Pointing, Uxía García explained, is a satellite’s ability not to deviate from the required orientation when put into operation mode. To improve this precision, she clarified, “it is necessary to consider all sources of error, including thermoelastic disturbances, which can significantly affect a satellite’s performance”. Thermoelastic disturbances are deformations in the structure generated by the temperature ranges to which the satellite platform and instrument are subjected and which can cause, for example, degradation to the final quality of the images provided.