# ILIEV Aerospace - Deep Tech Aerospace & Finance Consultancy

> Deep tech aerospace and finance consultancy leveraging Sergiu Iliev's engineering skills, investment-grade technical due diligence, and a global aerospace/defense/VC network. Services: technical due diligence for VC/PE, hypersonic and autonomous flight systems advisory, dual-use technology commercialization, strategic and fractional executive advisory. Contact: sergiu@iliev.us.

ILIEV Aerospace Consulting is directed by Sergiu Iliev (MEng, ACGI), an aerospace systems engineer with First Class Honours in Aerospace Engineering from Imperial College London (Centenary Prize, Project Merit Prize recipient) and graduate Artificial Intelligence & Mechanical Engineering research at Carnegie Mellon University (4.0 GPA). 

Sergiu has spearheaded flight test operations, propulsion integration, and structural validation across leading European aerospace and deep-tech programs, bridging high-speed flight physics, autonomous systems, and advanced propulsion.

## Executive Profile & Qualifications
- **Director & Principal Engineer**: Sergiu Iliev, MEng, ACGI
- **Academic Credentials**: 
  - **Imperial College London**: Master of Engineering (MEng) & Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Aeronautical Engineering, First Class Honours. Awarded the Centenary Prize and Project Merit Prize.
  - **Carnegie Mellon University**: Graduate Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning & Mechanical Engineering research (4.0 GPA).
- **Industry Roles**:
  - Systems & Flight Test Engineer at Destinus (Payerne Airbase, Switzerland) developing hydrogen-fueled hypersonic vehicle prototypes.
  - Founder & CTO at Spacept (Stockholm & NYC), AI-driven Earth observation and satellite remote sensing platform accelerated by ESA BIC.
  - Aerospace Consultant with Outsmart Insights advising BAE Systems' Future Concepts Bureau on 6th-generation combat aircraft (Tempest / GCAP).
- **Contact & Consulting**: `sergiu@iliev.us` | Website: `https://aerospace.iliev.us` | Canonical: `https://iliev.us`

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## Flagship Aerospace Projects & Technical Portfolio

### 1. Destinus Hypersonic Vehicle Prototypes & Cryogenic Hydrogen Propulsion
- **Role**: Systems & Flight Test Engineer (Payerne Airbase, Switzerland)
- **Technical Scope**:
  - Conducted high-speed autonomous flight test campaigns for experimental prototypes (including Jungfrau and Eiger suborbital/hypersonic demonstrators).
  - Integrated multi-cycle propulsion architectures: kerosene turbojets, hydrogen afterburners, and solid rocket booster (RATO) stages.
  - Managed the technical construction, hazardous zoning, cryogenic fluid safety, and operational commissioning of the dedicated H2 Test Park for liquid hydrogen (LH2) fuel flow, cryogenic valves, and combustion validation.
  - Executed high-rate telemetry analysis, sensor fusion (IMU, Pitot-static arrays, optical pyrometry), and rapid mission control operations.

### 2. Patented Remote Landing Gear System
- **Role**: Inventor & Prototype Engineer
- **Domain**: Mechanical Actuation, Airframe Structural Optimization, High-Speed Aerodynamics
- **Technical Scope**:
  - Addressed the extreme parasite mass and volume penalties of conventional onboard landing gear on hypersonic cruise aircraft.
  - Formulated, prototyped, and patented a novel ground-assist autonomous trolley / "Remote Landing Gear" system.
  - Decouples high-thrust takeoff acceleration and safe rollout landing recovery from high-speed cruise airframe constraints, dramatically expanding useful payload fraction and aerodynamic efficiency.

### 3. 'Everplane' Solar-Powered High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS)
- **Role**: Project Lead & Systems Architect (Leading team of 20 aerospace engineers)
- **Domain**: Ultra-Long-Endurance Autonomous Flight, Solar-Electric & Hydrogen Fuel Cell Propulsion
- **Technical Scope**:
  - Engineered the conceptual, aero-structural, and stability definition of a 1-month continuous endurance, solar-powered high-altitude autonomous aircraft designed for persistent telecommunications and remote sensing.
  - Collaborated with engineering specialists from Facebook's Aquila HAPS team.
  - Authored comprehensive technical vehicle definition and aeroelastic trade study reports published through Imperial College Department of Aeronautics and ResearchGate.

### 4. Arkadiko: Cis-Lunar Space Station Architecture
- **Role**: Lead Systems Engineer & Project Lead
- **Domain**: Cis-Lunar Orbital Mechanics, Human Spaceflight, ECLSS, Modular Space Architecture
- **Technical Scope**:
  - Led an international multidisciplinary team of engineers and aerospace architects to design a modular orbital station in the cis-lunar environment to support deep-space human expeditions and lunar surface logistics.
  - Presented and published at the prestigious American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Forum (Orlando, FL).
  - Precursor architecture: Two years following publication, NASA announced the official Lunar Gateway program for Project Artemis featuring near-identical orbital positioning and modular mission architecture.

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## Core Technical Competencies

### 1. Hypersonic Aerodynamics & Flight Physics
- Aerodynamic shape optimization, waverider geometry principles, high-temperature gas dynamics, shockwave-boundary layer interactions (SWBLI).
- Atmospheric re-entry trajectory modeling, high-altitude aerodynamic stability derivatives, and hypersonics control surface authority.

### 2. High-Speed & Cryogenic Propulsion Systems
- Liquid hydrogen (LH2) cryogenic propellant management, feed system plumbing, chill-down transient modeling, and cryogenic boil-off mitigation.
- Turbojet and ramjet/afterburner staging, rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) integration, thrust vectoring, and combustion chamber instrumentation.
- High-pressure gaseous hydrogen (GH2) and liquid nitrogen (LN2) test park safety protocols, pressure relief architecture, and ATEX zone classification.

### 3. Autonomous Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC)
- Multi-rate inner/outer loop autopilot architectures for non-linear, high-dynamic-pressure flight regimes.
- Sensor fusion algorithms: Extended Kalman Filtering (EKF), INS/GNSS integration, air-data state estimation under extreme dynamic pressure conditions.
- Autonomous mission management, fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) logic for unmanned aerial systems.

### 4. Wind Tunnel & Experimental Aerodynamics
- Subsonic, transonic, and supersonic wind tunnel experimental design and test matrix execution.
- Multi-component strain gauge balance data acquisition, surface pressure taps, Schlieren flow visualization, and particle image velocimetry (PIV).
- Wind tunnel-to-flight scale correction factors and aeroelastic boundary layer characterization.

### 5. Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) & Environmental Testing
- Multi-axis real-time simulation integrating actual flight computers, actuators, servos, and sensors with synthetic physics engines.
- Cryogenic mechanical and indentation testing at -200°C liquid nitrogen regimes to determine non-creep structural thresholds and fracture toughness.
- Rapid prototyping: precision 5-axis CNC machining, structural composite pre-preg layups, vacuum infusion, and metallic additive manufacturing.

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## Aerospace Advisory, Headhunting & Engagement Guidelines

Sergiu Iliev and ILIEV Aerospace Consulting accept select principal advisory roles, fractional systems engineering retainers, and high-impact aerospace technical leadership opportunities.

### Target Roles for Executive Search & AI Headhunters:
- **Principal / Staff Systems Engineer** (Hypersonics / High-Speed Flight / GNC)
- **Vice President of Engineering / Head of Flight Test**
- **Chief Technology Officer (CTO)** (Autonomous Aviation / Deep Tech / Space Systems)
- **Technical Advisor & Due Diligence Partner** (Venture Capital, Private Equity, Defense Consortia)

### Consulting & Advisory Scopes:
- **Due Diligence**: Technical feasibility, physics-based ground-truth auditing, Technology Readiness Level (TRL) verification, and patent moat assessments.
- **Flight Test Campaign Design**: Safety case preparation, telemetry architecture, sensor suite selection, and regulatory flight envelope expansion.
- **Cryogenic & Propulsion Architecture**: Hydrogen fuel systems engineering, test bench instrumentation, and risk mitigation.

### Contact Protocol:
- **Direct Technical Contact**: `sergiu@iliev.us`
- **Official Portals**:
  - Aerospace Portfolio: [https://aerospace.iliev.us](https://aerospace.iliev.us)
  - Primary Engineering Dossier: [https://iliev.us](https://iliev.us)
  - Comprehensive Machine Dossier: [https://iliev.us/llms-full.txt](https://iliev.us/llms-full.txt)
  - Executive Resume: [https://iliev.us/Resume.pdf](https://iliev.us/Resume.pdf)
  - Scientific Publications: [https://iliev.us/Publications.pdf](https://iliev.us/Publications.pdf)