The ICARUS consortium proudly participated in the 27th ESA Symposium on European Rocket and Balloon Programmes and Related Research, held in Trondheim, Norway, from 31 May to 4 June 2026.
The symposium, part of a long-standing conference series initiated in 1973 by the Member States of EASP, provides a dedicated platform for scientists and engineers working with sounding rockets, balloons, and related research activities.
ICARUS contributed with two technical papers highlighting the project’s progress in suborbital flight demonstration and Flexible TPS development for Inflatable Heat Shields:
- “ICARUS Sub-Orbital Flight Test: A Synergic Combination between a Sounding Rocket and an Innovative Re-Entry System”
- “ICARUS Flexible TPS Development and Qualification for Suborbital Re-Entry Mission”
Highlights and Impact
The participation of ICARUS showcased not only the current status of the project, but also the strong synergy between the innovative re-entry system being developed by the consortium and the flexibility offered by sounding rocket platforms as flight-test facilities, under the leadership of DLR-MORABA.
During the symposium, a dedicated exhibition corner prepared by DLR-MORABA displayed several hardware elements developed within the project, providing attendees with a tangible overview of the technologies currently under development:
- A subscale mock-up of the Inflatable Heat Shield demonstrator, soon to be tested in the Scirocco Plasma Wind Tunnel at CIRA (courtesy of CIRA);
- A breadboard of the Flexible TPS material stack-up, together with its test holder, previously tested at the L2K Arcjet Facility at DLR Cologne (courtesy of DLR Cologne);
- A breadboard of the innovative flexible strain-gauge sensor developed by Pangaia Grado Zero;
- A breadboard of the innovative FBG sensor suite developed by DEMCON;
- A breadboard of the data acquisition system developed by DLR Cologne;
- Material samples of the Inflatable Structure stack-up manufactured and tested by ATMOS Space Cargo.
The consortium was represented at the symposium by:
- INDRA-DEIMOS: Giuseppe Guidotti (Giuseppe Guidotti | LinkedIn)
- DLR-MORABA: Doreen Kupka, Sebastian Dominik (Sebastian Dominik | LinkedIn)
- DLR AS-HYP (Supersonic and Hypersonic Technologies Department): Florian Klingenberg
- CIRA: Roberto Gardi (Roberto Gardi | LinkedIn), Alessandro Carmine Esposito (Alessandro Carmine Esposito | LinkedIn)
Looking Forward
The symposium provided a valuable opportunity to share technical progress, gather feedback from major agencies and experts, and build momentum toward the next project milestones.
As ICARUS progresses toward its Critical Design Review and future flight demonstration, the consortium remains committed to advancing inflatable and reusable technologies for Europe and beyond.
Stay tuned for the next updates as we continue this exciting journey!
#ICARUS #icarus_project #icarus_horizon #HorizonEurope #HorizonEU
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