On November 5th, 2024, the Romanian experiment DropCoal, developed entirely by Romanian InSpace Engineering (RISE), was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the SpaceX CRS-31 mission from NASA Kennedy Space Center. The project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and proposed by an international team of researchers led by INFLPR, is now fully operational.

What is DropCoal?

DropCoal is an innovative experiment that studies the coalescence and mixing of liquids in microgravity. During the 6-month mission, the device will perform 560 experiments, while a high-speed camera films how two droplets of different liquids form, meet and mix.

The Importance of the experiment

The discoveries from this experiment are of high importance for space exploration, as they help improve methods for administering medication to astronauts and refueling spacecraft.

Capabilities at RISE

The DropCoal project demonstrates the ability of the RISE team to meet complex requirements, combining the multidisciplinary expertise within the company to design, manufacture, launch and operate a space device or mission. The DropCoal device, a true space laboratory, was designed, built and qualified by the RISE team, integrating:

• A high-speed video camera for detailed footage.

• Precise control systems: pumps, motors and circuits for handling liquids.

• Advanced software and a command center at the RISE premises to coordinate the experiments.

Developing DropCoal involved significant challenges: fitting the design within strict volume and mass limits, conducting rigorous tests for vibration resistance and extreme temperatures, and ensuring electromagnetic compatibility. Thanks to a skilled team and effective solutions, RISE successfully overcame these obstacles, qualifying the device to meet ESA and NASA standards.

Performance proven in space

The installation of DropCoal in the ICE Cubes Facility equipment went smoothly, demonstrating the reliability of the device and the strictness of the integration process. On November 15th, DropCoal was powered on for the first time from the RISE command center. The engineers successfully generated the first droplets in microgravity and conducted the initial demonstrative experiments, confirming the functionality of the main blocks of components. DropCoal is now fully operational, as the RISE operators are following the planned procedures to carry out over 500 experiments according to the scenarios outlined by the team of scientific researchers.

About RISE

Romanian InSpace Engineering (RISE) is an aerospace engineering company specialized in developing hardware solutions for space and integrating space technologies into terrestrial applications. With a dedicated team of engineers and researchers, RISE covers the entire development cycle of a space project, from design to operation.

DropCoal is a real proof of the capabilities at RISE, representing a successful project where innovation, precision, and technical excellence have perfectly combined to take Romanian technology to Earth’s orbit.

Space Tech Association in collaboration with City Hall and Local Council of Cluj-Napoca will organize on 05 November 2024, at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca TUCN HUB, George Barițiu no.4, the third edition of “Space Systems Engineering Workshop”.

In this third edition of “Space Systems Engineering Workshop” we aim to bring together 150 professionals from the aerospace sector, with guests from renowned international organizations and national organizations, as well as representatives from the Romanian industrial, academic and research sectors.
The main areas of the presentations will be focused on wireless communications, satellite navigation and positioning systems, artificial intelligence and other types of technologies applied in the aerospace sector.

The expertise brought by professionals in this event will facilitate the understanding and promotion of new technological development trends in the aerospace field, producing synergies between companies, research centers and educational institutions, thus facilitating the process of creating a knowledge-based society and a harmonious socioeconomic cohesion.

The event will be held in an informal technical environment, with the possibility of networking and exchanging ideas with aerospace professionals, entrepreneurs, and possible future business partners.

The workshop schedule will be available closer to the event.

We look forward to seeing you on 05 November 2024, at the third edition of “Space Systems Engineering Workshop”.

Registration is free of charge.

SPACE TECH has organized an event with international participation called ”Space Systems Engineering Workshop”.

The workshop took place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, George Baritiu Street, No.25, First Floor, Tertea Amphitheater, on 21.11.2023.

The event brought together almost 100 professionals from the space sector. We had guest from international organizations such as ESA and SME4Space, and from national organizations such as ROSPIN, ROSA, ROMSPACE, as well as representatives from the industrial, academic and research environment from Romania.

The event not only provided a holistic view of Romania’s current space landscape and its promising future but also was a platform to connect with an array of space industry professionals. The workshop was structured in two parts:

• In the first part, we were honoured to have as keynote speakers three experts in the space field. Mr. Eng. Cosmonaut Dr. Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu who started the event with a presentation of „Space governance in the future planetary exploration” followed by Mr. Eng. Dr. Nickolaos Panagiotopoulos expert in avionics and ESA representative and also Mrs. Eng. Danai Bournou representative of the international organization SME4Space .
• The second part included insightful presentations from our Space Tech members comprising a range of perspectives from industry leaders, academia, and research experts across Romania.

The main areas of the presentations were on wireless communications, satellite navigation and positioning systems, artificial intelligence and other types of technologies applied in the aerospace sector.

We thank you for your contribution to ”Space Systems Engineering Workshop” and we look forward to seeing you at our next event in 2024.

Synoptes – a GNSS based timestamping device for astronomy applications, is an ESA contract for an activity oriented on the development of hardware. The development was led by RISE in collaboration with the Romanian Academy Astronomical Institute and the Romanian Academy Astronomical Observatory in Cluj-Napoca. It included the design and development of both hardware and software in order to obtain a cost-efficient standalone module which provides timestamps with an accuracy better than 1 microsecond for image-capture frequencies up to 15Hz.

Synoptes is a miniaturized device interfacing with computers using a USB connection and providing precise time stamping of electrical signal with an absolute accuracy on the order of tens of nanoseconds. The performance of the device was confirmed during tests against the atomic clock of the National Metrology Institute in Bucharest. Although Synoptes can be used for a wide range of applications, the reference implementation developed during the project is the timestamping of astronomical images taken by telescopes and editing the FITS image header to include the precise time of each observation.

MARGOT – Multipath & Interference Error Mitigation Techniques for Future Maritime e-NAV Services, was the first project for the European Space Agency implemented by our company and the consortium of international partners we coordinated. The project was included in ESA’s NAVISP Element I programme and it was developed by RISE, with the Romanian Space Agency, GMV, Joanneum Research and GeoEcoMar as partners.

MARGOT was focused on monitoring the GNSS environment in real life maritime navigation services, to develop models and methods for mitigation against errors in positioning. With almost 2800 hours of data collected in different maritime and fluvial navigation environments and an in-depth analysis of the local errors that impacted the GNSS measurements, the project provided conclusions for local error modelling and recommendations for future maritime regulations. RISE presented the activities and results of MARGOT at the ION GNSS+ conference, in the Marine Applications and Search and Rescue session. We are honored to announce that our presentation was selected the best presentation of this session.

In some cases Cloudflight Romania customers require various high-level processing of some areas, based on a set of aerial photographs. The results of these photographs processing are 3D models of areas or entire cities, models that can afterwards be used for advanced structure planning.

In this category Cloudflight Romania was involved in developing projects that have a more practical purpose than a scientific one. For example, the frost risk assessment of apple blossoms or the assessment of forest infestations with various pest species.

GRASP it’s an algorithm used for scientific purpose in computing a series of properties and features of aerosols present both in the atmosphere and on the earth’s surface. The algorithm is developed by GRASP-SAS squad and retrieves as input data satellite radiation measurement (the reflection of solar radiation by the earth’s surface) in a standardized format. These processes are managed within Cloudflight Romania projects.