Field of Work
Georg Herdrich's fields of work at the University of Stuttgart’s Institute of Space Systems include “Unconventional Propulsion Systems”, “Plasma Technology for Industrial Applications”, “Re-entry Technology” and “Electric Space Propulsion”. He has participated in numerous international projects on the subject of re-entry technology, such as the MIRKA re-entry capsule (1997), the temperature measurement system for the Japanese HOPE-X (JAXA, Kawasaki) or the PYREX-KAT38 measurement system for X38 (NASA, ESA, DLR). He was research leader for the aerothermodynamic instrumentation PYREX, PHLUX and RESPECT for the ESA capsule EXPERT and one of the research leaders of the “Jules Vernes” observation mission.
Herdrich is a member of the Aerothermodynamic Technical Committee of CEAS (Council of European Aerospace Societies) and was a delegate of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UN working group “Nuclear Power in Space” and the “Joint Expert Group of United Nations and IAEA” from 2006 to 2012. In this context he developed the "United Nations safety framework for nuclear power in space". From 2010 to 2014, he was the European head of the RTO group, “Gas-surface-interaction.”
Personal Information
Georg Herdrich, born in 1969 in Ettenheim, studied Aerospace Engineering at the University of Stuttgart and received his doctorate in 2004 in the field of simulation of atmospheric entry maneuvers. After research stays at the University of Tokyo and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, USA, he completed his habilitation in 2012 in the field of space-related plasmas.
Herdrich was awarded the NASA Group Achievement Award for the Observation of the STARDUST Capsule During Atmospheric Entry (2007) and for contributions to the re-entry observation of Hayabusa (2010). He was awarded the "Land der Ideen" prize for his research on Teflon as a solid propellant in collaboration with ElringKlinger GmbH in 2008. In 2018, he received the dreamUp Awards (with NASA and NanoRacks LLC) for his involvement in the PAPELL experiment and its integration aboard the International Space Station (ISS).