Wrocław University of Technology students from the WSAG Scientific Circle went to the European Space Agency (ESA) base at Noordwijk (Netherlands). They will take part in the Critical Design Review during which they will present the progress in their work on the FREDE experiment. In Autumn, their equipment will be placed in a balloon that will be launched to an altitude of almost 30 km.
Critical Design Review is another step of the REXUS/BEXUS programme organized by the European Space Agency (ESA) in cooperation with the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
As part of the programme, the BEXUS balloon with experimental equipment designed by students of four European universities will be launched from the spaceport near Kiruna (Sweden) at the polar circle. The balloon equipment will include a spectroscope built by members of the Wrocław University of Technology WSAG Scientific Circle. With the use of it, they will be able to carry out the FREDE experiment, i.e. examine the process of Freon decay in the stratosphere, and in particular its speed, referred to as photochemical reaction kinetics.
Before the balloon can be launched into the air, the students have to go through a number of steps verifying the progress of their work on the experiment. On Wednesday, during the Critical Design Review, their progress will be assessed by representatives of an ESA committee. “Their suggestions will serve as guidelines to identify the elements of the experiment that still need to be improved, and ones that don’t require any further changes or improvement.” – explains Jędrzej Górski from the FREDE project.
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Translation: Dariusz Więcławski
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