Personal Stories

Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue1 1–29 February 2020

 Eduardo Trifoni joined ANU 7 months ago as a Space Test Scientist and National Space Test Facility Manager.

Eduardo got his Master’s Degree summa cum laude in Mechanical Engineering in 1999 and has now accumulated 20 years of experience carrying out independent research in technology frontier fields from Hydrogen Energy to Experimental Aerothermodynamics.

In particular he had dealt with the management, engineering, operations and maintenance of Scirocco 70 MW Plasma Wind Tunnel (PWT), the world's largest and most powerful space test facility for the simulation of the hypersonic entry phase of space vehicles. He has seen things you  wouldn't believe. Thermal Protection Systems on fire at atmospheric pressure and snowfalls under vacuum. He has watched shockwaves glitter in the dark near the diffuser throat and meteorites melt at entry conditions.

Working in hypersonics, he started to rethink the distances on our planet and no place seems too far away. He likes the sky, the water and the wildlife and he is a sincere advocate of an open society.