Close
ROSPIN-SAT-1 is ROSPIN’s first project and it has been running since the fall of 2020. The project has evolved from a small group of space enthusiasts to a large scale hands-on activity which is currently part of ESA’s Fly Your Satellite Design Booster programme. Watch this space for updates!
Perspective
ROSPIN-SAT-1 wishes to be just the start in terms of high quality space projects in Romania. Our NGO is working hard to create the basis for similar projects to start across the country.
The ROSPIN-SAT-1 mission has two sets of objectives: technical and educational. On the technical side, this mission aims to perform agroforestry inventory and to detect health issues of vegetation across Romania’s territory in order to identify land areas with reforestation potential and to inform authorities on this matter. On the education side, the mission is actively contributing to the development of the local space sector through upskilling of students and young professionals involved in the design, build, test and operation of the satellite.
The ROSPIN-SAT-1 team was started by a group of students from the University POLITEHNICA Bucharest and evolved into a technical program with members and collaborators from European universities and the local space industry. The core of the team consists of 15 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students, most of them enrolled at UPB. Those involved in the project have various specializations in areas such as orbital mechanics, satellite orientation control and stabilization, Earth observation, structural design, electronic design or software development. In addition, the team benefits from technical support from companies and institutes such as: GMV, RISE, Thales, Deimos, HPS, SAB Aerospace, COMOTI and INCAS.
ESA Fly Your Satellite Design Booster is a pilot program of the European Space Agency, currently running its first edition. It was introduced by ESA as a precursor to the main ESA Fly Your Satellite program which is currently in its 4th edition and through which dozens of European teams have passed, including Romania’s Goliath in 2008.
The main objective of the competition is to develop the satellite design to the point where it is completed and can be produced and tested as part of ESA’s flagship nanosatellite launch programme: Fly Your Satellite. The secondary objective is educational, considering that participating students interact directly with European Space Agency experts and take part in trainings organized by ESA.
For this first edition, 12 teams from Europe, including ours, were preselected and participated in a one-week training held at ESTEC, the European space research and technology centre in the Netherlands. Following this training, the teams improved their reports, and in December 2022 the final selection was made. Six teams from renowned universities managed to be accepted into the program: two from Italy, two from Spain, one from Switzerland and ROSPIN-SAT-1 from Romania.
The team completed an intensive 3-week period during April with 13 meetings with ESA experts. The current mission design was discussed in detail and the plan for the rest of the year was drawn up. In the coming months, the ROSPIN-SAT-1 team will finalize the mission concept and plans to begin testing the system’s functionality. In addition, the team will recruit new members in each subsystem. The next major milestone will be in the winter/spring of 2024 when the team will have its final evaluation under the ESA FYS Design Booster program.
