Humans are heading back to the Moon. Artemis and the Lunar Gateway programme are on their way and the next step will be the lunar ground station. But one major problem for a sustainable outpost on the Moon remains: Moon dust (regolith) doesn’t have the right material properties to either store energy efficiently or to be an ideal construction material. The result would be to transport massive quantities of material from the Earth. Orbit Recycling has developed a new composite: ALReCo. Using a unique method, regolith is mixed with material from space debris to enhance its physical properties. ALReCo shows improved thermal capacity and conductivity in order to store energy much better. ALReCo is better suited to construction elements and the integration of aluminium structures, and flanges with regolith parts could become a modular framework for the upcoming Moon base. By turning waste into valuable material, ALReCo reduces not only the amount of space debris but the amount of material that needs to be transported from Earth as well.

Benefits:

• ALReCo enables a self-paying space debris recycling concept
• ALReCo reduces material transportation during the construction of the lunar ground station
• ALReCo offers flexible use cases, from construction elements to energy storage solutions

The civil UAV market with a worldwide market volume of USD 6.56 billion in 2018 is expected to grow to USD 43 billion by 2024*. Market growth in the coming years will be driven by the large number of new commercial applications, in particular by the use of unmanned stratospheric flight systems for telecommunications and Earth observation services. For perennial operation at high altitudes, these aircraft require an extremely large wingspan with the lowest possible structural weight. When flying in the troposphere, conventional aircraft configurations face a particular risk that greater turbulences could lead to cracks and fractures in the aircraft structure. The Berlin-based company AlphaLink Engineering GmbH is currently developing a compound aircraft that can solve this structural-mechanical lightweight construction dilemma by connecting multiple aircraft modules at their wingtips through mechanical
joints. After intensive research at Technische Universität Berlin, the patented technology is now being tested by AlphaLink in the form of test vehicles and flight trials. The compound aircraft is the first electrically powered stratospheric aircraft that achieves both long operating times and high payloads.

* SESAR, European ATM Master Plan, Roadmap for the safe integration of drones into all classes of airspace, 2018

Benefits:

• Secure, unmanned operation for low-cost Internet access in remote areas
• First flying platform with a modular approach
• Technology is fully scalable as a complement and alternative to satellite systems
• Year-round operation possible just powered by solar energy
• Can be used as “flying camera” or “mobile antenna”