REXUS/BEXUS Space Experiment
LASER melting of metals in microgravity on a sounding rocket at 90 km altitude (ESA/DLR/SNSB)
Led the first Romanian team to develop an experiment that flew on board the REXUS sounding rocket at 90 km altitude. The experiment used a 25W LASER diode to melt and weld different metals used in the space industry, studying surface deformation and dendritic solidification of titanium alloy in microgravity.
For this work, we won the Hans von Muldau Team Award for the Best Team Project at the International Astronautical Congress in Beijing, China. Here’s a picture of us with the Romanian astronaut, Dumitru Prunariu.
Publication: Manoliu, L., Ciuca, I., Lupu, E. S., et al. (2015). REXUS 16: Low gravity experiment. Proceedings of the 22nd ESA Symposium on European Rocket and Balloon Programmes and Related Research.