Scottish Branch Noise from Spaceports Friday 29 October 2021
Scottish Branch
Noise from Spaceports
A presentation by Simon Waddell and Roalt Aalomes
followed by an opportunity for Q&A and informal chat
Friday 29 October 2021
1230 - 1330
By Zoom (Zoom details will be emailed to all those who have registered on EventBrite)

There have been a number of recent planning applications for spaceports in Scotland in recent years, the first of which is expected to be operational before the end of the year. Simon Waddell (ITPEnergised) and Roalt Aalmoes (Netherlands Aerospace Centre: NLR) will be speaking at the event ran by the Scottish Branch to discuss the specifics involved in the perception and assessment of noise associated with spaceports.

Simon Waddell

ITPEnergised has recently undertaken the EIA for the proposed SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst in Shetland and also a planning application for a rocket engine testing facility in Midlothian for Skyrora. These assessments considered noise sources with substantially different characteristics to those we would encounter in a ‘typical’ environmental noise assessment, which required novel approaches to the characterisation and evaluation of noise impacts. Simon will talk about these noise assessments and the methods ITPEnergised used in the assessment process.

Simon has worked in environmental consultancy since finishing university in 2005, specialising in the field of environmental noise since around 2010. Simon has been at ITPEnergised since 2016 with typical projects including planning and permitting for residential, industrial and power generation and transmission developments.

Roalt Aalmoes

The Royal NLR has developed the Virtual Community Noise Simulator (VCNS), a facility to perform research and demonstrate the impact of noise sources for communities nearby. The facility has been used before to develop quieter aircraft procedures and demonstrate the noise impact of new generations of aircraft or drones. But has also been used in relation to other potential noise sources such as wind farms and railroad traffic. It is also a unique way to explain and experience actual noise impact to local communities, compared to traditional means such as reporting (differences in) decibel levels and noise impact maps. In this talk, Roalt Aalmoes will give you an insight into this technology, and shares his experience in approaching communities confronted with a change in their soundscape.

Roalt Aalmoes works as senior R&D engineer at the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre NLR. For 10 years now, he has been working at the sustainability & environmental department to examine the impact of aircraft for the environment. He worked on the implementation of the latest generation of aircraft noise models, and is chairing an international expert group on synthesis of aircraft sound. He is also head developer of the Virtual Community Noise Simulator, a research facility to simulate noise impact using Virtual Reality technology.

If you have any queries about this meeting, please contact Laurent Galbrun (Heriot-Watt University) L.G.U.Galbrun@hw.ac.uk.

(Zoom details will be emailed to all those who have registered on EventBrite)

 

 

 

When
29 October 2021