SpaceX will launch a new Romanian picosatellite

Despite its shortcomings, the domestic education system manages to offer pleasant surprises. The second Romanian satellite, built by five students from the International Computer Science High School in Bucharest, has passed its tests and will be launched by SpaceX in November aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. According to the educational institution: "Five students from the International Computer Science High School in Bucharest are sending the second satellite in the Romanian Orbital Mission series into orbit. ROM-3, the second achievement of the RomSpace team, is in its final stages. Mechanical and electrical tests have been successfully completed in the laboratories of Alba Orbital in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The picosatellite, named Space Starling, is ready for flight and will be installed on the rocket in October." ROM-3 is a rectangular parallelepiped with dimensions of 5x5x10 centimeters, a larger version of its predecessor, ROM-2. It is equipped with more advanced and complex technology, including a 5-megapixel camera. Its mission is to collect data from space about the Earth's crust, and the reception of this data will be done through the international network of radio amateurs. The satellite is scheduled to be launched in November at Vandenberg, California, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The satellite will orbit the Earth at an altitude of 550 kilometers, at a speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour, orbiting the planet 15 times every 24 hours, passing over Romania twice a day, and transmitting on the frequency of 436.235 MHz, under the callsign YP3R. ROM-3 was made with the financial support of the Terapia group from Cluj, the agency The Group, and the support provided by the International Computer Science High School of Sector 3. The team of students is composed of Filip Buşcu, Alexandru Luchianov, Alexandru Unteşu, David Ghiberdic, and Alexandru Peticaru.