TU Delft Space Institute

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Facilities

At TU Delft we have a variety of facilities highly relevant for space-related research activities. Here we provide a list of these facilities. You can always reach out to the Delft Space Institute management team (@spaceinstitute.tudelft.nl) if you have an interest in using any of these facilities for your (proposed) projects. DSI management will connect you to the relevant parties at TU Delft with whom you could discuss the specifics and possibilities of the facility you are interested in.

Satellite Communication and Orbital Mechanics laboratory

The Satellite Communication and Orbital Mechanics (SCOM) laboratory comprises a rooftop laboratory, a 3D printing facility, an astrodynamics toolbox and a GNC robotics facility. The dedicated Rooftop Laboratory is located on the roof of the high-rise building of the Aerospace Engineering faculty, and named DakLab. This laboratory facilitates access to the sky and supports various users to operate radio set-ups, track satellites and make astronomical observations. Some examples of projects taking place include satellite laser communication experiments and weather monitoring, satellite doppler tracking and radiometry light pollution.

Delft Planetary Labs (DPL)

The Delft Planetary Labs (DPL) is a coherent framework of research facilities that are centred on applications in planetary science. DPL is a ‘distributed lab’ consisting of lab facilities that use different research strategies to study the properties of asteroids, planets and (icy) moons.

Ground station

A satellite ground station is present on the roof of the EWI building for VHF, UHF and the S-band communication as well as for the reception of pulsar signals for an FP7 project. Within the TU Delft Space Institute, the ground station will be further extended and innovated to be able to handle multiple satellites and large data streams. The existing cooperation with ISIS will be intensified.

Space lab

An ISO 8, class 100,000 cleanroom exists on the 8th floor of the Aerospace Faculty. The cleanroom has been established in 2005 and is officially registered as an Aerospace Engineering facility since 2012. Its mission is to facilitate high-level research on space systems while, at the same time, providing students with education and training in the field in a professional environment. On this facility space systems are developed, integrated and tested. A cleanroom manager coordinates the work of students, assures safety, facilitates research activities and offers training in proper usage of facility equipment.

Korolev Lab

Korolev Lab, named after Sergei Korolev, father of practical astronautics, is a one of its kind lab in the entire campus of TU Delft. It houses the Armature Rocketry European Altitude holder and one of the Dream Teams – Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering (DARE). Although the lab is a facility of TU Delft Robotics Institute, DARE is its primary user where the lab is now DARE’s primary mission planning floor for Stratos II and eight other teams within DARE working all year round in the fields of propulsion, structures, recovery systems, electronics and experimental rocket concepts. It provides one of the best environments to foster future rocket engineers

Network Embedded Robotics Lab

The DCSC NERDlab focuses on developing novel distributed algorithms in the field of robotics by providing a variety of low cost platforms and sensor nodes. Using a modular software framework the lab setup aims at providing students an easy to use setup that allows them to experimentally validate these algorithms. Arguably the most important problem in robotics is the localization problem. The Networked Embedded Robotics lab provides two separate hardware setups to handle this problem. First it employs an infrared camera system by Optitrack. The Optitrack system can publish the location and orientation of objects with a millimeter accuracy at a rate of 120 Hz. The second localization system is called the Cricket, by MIT. Crickets use a combination of RF and ultrasonic signals to determine the distance between each other by measuring the time difference of arrival of the two signals.

Cyber Zoo

The Cyber Zoo is a research and test laboratory for flying and walking swarm robots. The flying dragonfly robot DelFly and the six-legged walking robot Zebro are working together there, carrying out tasks in all kinds of different environments without the help of people. Swarm robots work in a way that is comparable to that of a colony of ants. In themselves, the robots are relatively simple, but in a group, they are capable of performing complex tasks, such as carrying out measurements and making observations. The Cyber Zoo, the TU lab in the aircraft hangar at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, is a ten by ten-metre space in which swarm robots have all the room they need to interact. Meanwhile, twelve high-tech cameras are used to analyse how the crawling and flying robots move and work together. This means the 3D coordinates and postures of the robots can be analysed accurately, after experiments.

Else Kooi Laboratory

The Else Kooi Laboratory and its staff aim to provide micro fabrication capabilities that facilitate excellence in (sub)micro-fabrication oriented Research& Science, enable customers to test out concepts that may lead to business successes (up to and including small scale production) and build a bridge between Academics and Industrial Innovation. In terms of facilities, processes and expertise, the lab is superbly equipped for micro-manufacturing at the cutting edge of integrated circuits, micro-electromechanical systems and working with flexible substrates. The combination of these technologies is what makes the lab unique.