PhD with On-Orbit Manufacturing for Spacecraft Infrastructure
'A spacecraft building spacecraft in spaceÂÌñ»»ÆÞ™
PhD student: Richard Arundal
Sponsor: Self/
Supervisor:
Dr Jasper Graham-Jones
I had a vision to set up my own spacecraft engineering company in the South West of England, so founded in 2015. I wanted to research ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ˜On Orbit ManufacturingÂÌñ»»ÆÞ™, or as I call it ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ˜spacecraft building spacecraft in spaceÂÌñ»»ÆÞ™. Completing a PhD alongside the technical start-up business would give me and the business credibility, and my research clarity and focus.
ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ˜Building a factory in spaceÂÌñ»»ÆÞ™ is enormously complex. Linking to the advanced manufacturing capability at the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ has really helped me get a clear direction for my research and narrowed down the scope of my PhD into a feasible project plan.
The PhD experience with ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ has been very, very positive. I was surprised how quickly my project took form and was given a clear direction - itÂÌñ»»ÆÞ™s evolved quickly, and I am very pleased with that.
Studying my PhD has improved my critical thinking and research skills, to be able to filter through huge amounts of information or documentation to pick out exactly what is needed ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ“ that's an acquired skill. Also, the ability to ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ˜deep diveÂÌñ»»ÆÞ™ into a subject and explore things that havenÂÌñ»»ÆÞ™t necessarily been looked at before. The innovation within the PhD and finding different ways of looking at new things has been enjoyable. Completing a PhD alongside the technical start up business would give me and the business credibility, and my research clarity and focus.
Richard Arundal, PhD student and Funder of Arundal Astronautics Ltd
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