The RISE research group of the University of Trieste and the innovative start-up PICOSATS srl, coordinated by Dr. Emanuele Alberto Slejko and Dr. Stefano Seriani, won the ICE-Cubes challenge of the "Space Exploration Masters" competition organized by the European Space Agency (ESA). He also took second place in the ESA & Commercial Partners Challenge.
RISE, the product presented by the team, impressed the ESA (European Space Agency) during the event "Space for Inspiration 2018" in Bilbao, in October, which was attended by institutes and large European aerospace industries, including ESA, ASI, Airbus, OHB, ArianeGroup, Thales Alenia Space.
The product, which stands for Resilient Integrated Structural Element, is designed to replace the aluminium structure of small satellites with 3D, modular and plastic moulded elements. Not only that, the electrical part that is fundamental to the operation of the satellite is integrated into the structure, making it much more robust, economical and easy to produce.
The group, completed by Prof. Anna Gregorio, Dr. Enrico Longato of PICOSATS srl, and Prof. Paolo Gallina of the University of Trieste, distinguished itself in a competition in which 132 teams from 42 different countries took part. Last September the team was among the 5 finalists.
The team won a "ticket" to send a prototype of the product to the International Space Station (ISS), together with 4 months of "operations", i.e. support for testing and experimentation on board the ISS, in the European Columbus Laboratory, services provided by the ICE-Cubes experiment facility.
