DropCoal for the International Space Station

The experiments will be hosted in the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS), integrating the device into the ICE Cubes Facility (ICF). DropCoal will be the Experiment Cube #17 on board the ISS, helping an international science team to better understand key aspects of fluid dynamics and push further the technologies in this field. 

  

Until now, DropCoal has successfully passed multiple major milestones, such as System Requirements Review (SRR), Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Critical Design Review (CDR), Manufacturing Readiness Review (MRR), Flight Safety Certification. The last phase shall be performed before launch, to confirm all the steps preparing for installation on board the ISS have been completed successfully.  

During the environmental test campaign, the critical tests consisted of: 

  • Vibration testing where it was subjected to accelerations of up to 24G, simulating the launch with a Falcon rocket. 
  • Thermal testing: the full operational thermal range of 4 to 42°C was applied 6 times, with Reference Functional tests performed in the key moments. 
  • Mechanical Fit Check with the ICE Cubes mockup available at SAS premises. 

  
DropCoal for ISS is now (Sept-Oct.2024) part of the last integration steps which involve fluid preparations, fluidic circuit priming and final leak tests. All these activities are performed in a clean room, and sterile equipment is used. 

  

The integration into the ICF will be performed by an astronaut, while the operations shall be performed from the ground in collaboration with the project’s Science Team.