Design and Feasibility Study of Novel Flying Wing Carrier for Launching Small Satellites in Low Earth Orbit  
[PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (F.B.B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (K.A.S. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.P)  
[PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (F.B.B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (K.A.S. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.P)  
[PERSON]  
2 Skybox Engineering S.r.l., 56122 Pisa, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (V.C. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (V.B.) [PERSON]  
2 Skybox Engineering S.r.l., 56122 Pisa, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (V.C. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (V.B.) [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (F.B.B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (K.A.S. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.P)  
[PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (F.B.B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (K.A.S. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.P)  
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The objective of this study is to investigate a carrier capable of transporting a launcher to a designated altitude, where it should be released for civil or private purposes, such as by deploying a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit (LEO). LEO satellites are cost-effective, provide effective communication, advanced imaging and sensing technologies, and can be launched with smaller launchers. These benefits have led to a significant growth in demand for LEO satellites, particularly for internet connectivity, environmental monitoring, and space exploration applications [6; 7; 8; 9]. The proposed carrier is a remote-controlled flying wing designed to transport a launcher up to the designed latitude of release, where the launcher is then released during a parabolic manoeuvre [10; 11] at approximately 8000 m. With a long operational range of approximately 8000 km, the carrier can fly from a wide set of possible ground stations to reach the designed position for launcher release. Flying wing configurations [12; 13; 14; 15] are candidates to be high-efficient aircraft configurations to be used for these purposes; this study will focus on the initial sizing and conceptual design phases to define the main wing/aircraft design parameters. The potential of the proposed air-to-launch solution may lie in several different aspects. Although the idea is an early-stage concept, different improvements to the current scenario deriving from its utilization can be hypothesized. In the first instance, as previously remarked, the intrinsic re-usability of the concept allows for cost cutting and flexible utilization; indeed, with a flying wing, it is possible to assume a rapid re-arrangement of the whole carrier system to increase the number of monthly missions. The increased potential operating flexibility of this concept derives also from less sensitivity with respect to the weather conditions that currently affect ground-based launch systems, and from a better positioning of the launch point in order to easily intercept the desired orbit for the LEO satellite [16; 17]. Launch operations do not need launch pad infrastructures, and this aspect coupled with the reusability of the aircraft carrier allows a reduction in the overall cost [17; 18]. Furthermore, as is the case with all air launch systems, the flying wing allows for starting the mission even at high latitudes, since the increase in speed necessary to put a satellite into orbit is reduced [18; 19]. A critical issue of the air-to-launch operation is the deploy system, since it has to guarantee no contacts between the aircraft carrier and the launcher because any contact would compromise the success of the mission.