BOSTON – – November 05, 2026 -- Northrop Grumman says Flexcompute's new Physics Twin for Space Plume Impingement has the potential to speed up plume analysis by about 200X compared with Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC), the established method for rarefied plume flows. Flexcompute, an AI lab building a Physics World Model, has made the tool available now.
Tool targets thruster exhaust effects during close-range maneuvers
Plume impingement occurs when thruster exhaust strikes a nearby vehicle. It can push or heat the vehicle, set it tumbling, erode its surfaces or contaminate its sensors. The risk is highest during rendezvous and proximity operations, where one thruster firing can affect another spacecraft. Refueling, servicing and autonomous docking are expanding the number of such missions.
Neural networks and a Boltzmann solver replace DSMC's compute-heavy approach
DSMC's computational cost limits how many scenarios teams can evaluate. Flexcompute's Tokenized Physics approach combines neural networks and a novel Boltzmann solver in one model. The company says it delivers DSMC-class accuracy. Because the model is grounded in physics rather than built as a surrogate, Flexcompute says results hold on new plume conditions and geometries without retraining for each case.
Northrop Grumman eyes broader coverage of approach paths and firing sequences
Dr. Han Park, Vice President of AI Integration, Space Systems at Northrop Grumman, said the speedup would let the company explore "a much larger range of plume interaction scenarios." He said engineers could analyze far more approach paths and firing sequences for docking and refueling and see how each affects the vehicles involved.
The Physics Twin is a working model of a team's spacecraft and its plume environment that engineers and AI agents can question and test. Flexcompute says it makes routine questions that were once too costly to ask. These include the safest way to dock with another spacecraft and whether plumes will damage or contaminate critical sensors.
Plume tool joins a growing suite that includes chip-packaging warpage
Vera Yang, President and Co-founder of Flexcompute, said the plume product is part of a growing suite of Physics Twins. The suite runs from spacecraft plume interactions to warpage in advanced chip packaging. Flexcompute says more than 250 companies across aerospace, automotive, defense, semiconductors, photonics and advanced manufacturing use its platform.