Space sector, Formula 1 share key similarities, former JPL official says

AIAA SCITECH FORUM, ORLANDO, Fla. — Strict schedules, extensive regulations and advanced technical skill sets: These are among the commonalities between the space sector and Formula 1 racing, Arbi Karapetian said at today’s keynote session.

Karapetian, now the director of innovation and technology at Formula 1, spent nearly 25 years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His roles included manager of the flight electronics section, and deputy manager of the payload and small spacecraft mechanical engineering section.

Formula 1 “has a lot of interesting similarities to space,” he told attendees. Both frequently contend with inflexible deadlines, and once the race — or launch — begins, “you can’t do much.”

There’s an “unrelenting schedule,” Karapetian added.

“Weekends have no meaning, nights have no meaning, holidays have no meaning,” he continued. “You’re working toward a goal because that launch window is not moving — and the same is true with Formula 1.”

Technological advances are an integral part of both industries. As a result, “people in our industries cross over quite a bit.”

And in each sector, “the regulations are the start of the requirements process.”

Formula 1 efforts “go through a very similar requirements development program to aerospace,” he said. “The prototyping and the testing and the design process starts very similar to aerospace.”

Karapetian identified several areas where Formula 1 is contributing to technological advances, including composite development, additive manufacturing, and applications of digital twins and artificial intelligence.