Alex Bush

Hi! I am a YGT looking at the Stability, Dynamics and Assembly of Orbiting Mega-Structures, working in the Advanced Concepts Team since September 2023. I graduated from my integrated master’s degree at the University of Southampton in Aeronautics and Astronautics with Spacecraft Engineering.

For my bachelor’s project I worked on re-creating ballistic capture in the CR3BP around Venus and assessed the mission profile’s effectiveness for supporting a mechanical seismometer mission on the surface. This was an interesting challenge, as the active radar communication system which was required onboard the spacecraft led to a communication profile different to traditional methods, where the strength of the signal was not proportional to the distance between the transmitter and the receiver, but instead worked similarly to an on/off switch.

For my master’s group project, I assisted in creating a prototype mechanical Venus rover, which was able to detect obstacles and manoeuvre around them without the use of electronics, requiring a mechanical digital computer on-board.

During my time at university, I also was a part of the CanSat team, where we had to make a “can sized” payload to fit in a mini rocket (which I’m holding in the photo)!

At the ACT, I am looking for future applications of Orbiting Mega-Structures similar to the SOLARIS programme, especially focusing on the orbital mechanics involved. In my free time, I enjoy weightlifting and playing video games. My obsession of the past few years has been Gregtech: New Horizons, because when studying an engineering degree, who wouldn’t want to submit themselves to more engineering but in Minecraft…

Contact: tni.ase@hsub.xela