Experimental Design of Flying Payloads

Dear Colleagues,

Flying payloads, including balloons, drones, and sounding rockets, provide a unique platform for conducting experiments in extreme and relevant environments. They offer more access than ground-based facilities, yet at lower costs and with higher flexibility than satellites, and can be considered as part of a wider development strategy for the adoption of new technologies in future space systems. Many interdisciplinary research topics rely on advanced experimental designs and innovative techniques enabled by flying payloads. 

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in flying payload experiments. It will cover balloon-borne, drone-based, and sounding rocket experiments focused on space physics, atmospheric science, astronomical observation, as well as technology demonstrations, including (but not limited to) the following:  

• Novel experimental designs for high-altitude research;
• Development and performance analysis of flying payload systems;
• Measuring techniques and instrumentations for extreme environments;
• Trajectory and attitude control of balloons, drones, and sounding rockets;
• Results from interdisciplinary studies spanning atmospheric physics, space science, astronomy, biology, etc.;
• (Re-)entry engineering and technologies, including TPS and decelerators;
• Correlations with ground-based experiments;
• Innovations in thermal management systems, materials, and structures for space vehicles and subsystems;
• Discussions on the future of flying payload capabilities. 

We invite original contributions that feature creative concepts, pioneering ideas, and transformative technologies implemented in flying payload experiments. Both theoretical and experimental papers are welcome. All papers will undergo rigorous peer review. We encourage researchers around the world to submit their latest findings in this promising field. Let us fly higher and further with flying payloads!

Dr. Antonio Del Vecchio
Dr. Marco Di Clemente
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• hypersonic flow
• aerothermodynamics
• space propulsion
• computational fluid dynamics
• facilities and instrumentation, including high-temperature verification and testing
• space payload design, verification, and testing
• flight testing
• experiments in space
• space engineering and technological demonstrators
• extrapolation from ground to flight