HELIA

Engineering

Category: Engineering
Year: 2026

HELIA is a stratospheric biology payload developed at the University of Nottingham for the BEXUS programme. It is designed to study how human cells respond to ultraviolet radiation within a controlled, pressurised environment. HELIA is the only UK university team selected for Cycle 17 of the REXUS/BEXUS programme.

As Mechanical Lead, I developed the initial mechanical architecture and CAD, working through ambiguous requirements with the team through rapid modelling and feasibility checks. As the architecture matured, I brought new members into the project and established clear subsystem envelopes and interfaces. Each member had freedom to develop their own design within that space, giving individual components sustained attention and allowing the overall design to mature further than I could have achieved alone.

HELIA gondola assembly overview. — [HELIA inside the Gondola Platform (Other Experiments Hidden)]

HELIA assembly close-ups. — [Render of the top segment of internals.]

HELIA’s internal systems are arranged in modular layers around a carbon-fibre frame. Each layer has a defined installation space and interfaces, allowing subsystems to be developed separately and brought together in one compact assembly. The insulated aluminium enclosure lifts away from the baseplate to expose the internal stack, simplifying assembly and access.

HELIA CAD assembly and exploded views. — [Exploded view of the internals]

HELIA window pressure analysis: displacement, equivalent strain and von Mises stress. — [Structural FEA of the UV-Fused Silica Window]

Photo on the right is the REXUS/BEXUS Cohort from the selection Workshop at ESA ESTEC. This was the first acceptance gate of the experiment/project into the program. Since then, the team has progressed through PDR, CDR, IPR and EAR, for a launch in October 2026 from Kiruna.

REXUS/BEXUS selection workshop cohort at ESA ESTEC, November 2025. — [November 2025, ESA ESTEC, Netherlands]