MADE IN POLAND2026 / STELA 1

INTRODUCING OUR LIQUID-PROPELLANT ROCKET

STELA 1

An experimental launch vehicle.
Designed, built and tested by ReSAT.

Discover the programme Watch the project film

CANSAT / CAMPAIGNSReSAT / POLAND

Planning a
CanSat campaign?Have another payload in mind?

Planning a CanSat campaign or developing another experiment? We welcome early conversations about payload integration, mission requirements and future launch projects.

resat.team@gmail.com STELA 1 remains under development. Future campaigns depend on successful vehicle validation.

01 / THE PROGRAMMEReSAT / POLAND

Engineering a
small-scale
launch vehicle.

STELA 1 is our experimental, liquid-propellant launch vehicle under development in Poland. It is being developed as a low-cost, small-scale launch platform for Europe, focused on small scientific payloads and flexible suborbital missions.

Our long-term goal is to build a practical European platform for small scientific payloads without the cost and rigidity of larger systems. Pressure-fed propulsion, the piston tank, avionics, composite structures, recovery and ground equipment are developed together to move step by step toward that capability.

Explore STELA 1

6major engineering subsystems

3.5 mvehicle length

27 kgtarget dry mass

2-10 kmplanned apogees

N₂O / EtOHSTELA 1 propulsion system

2026Ground-test programme

01Design

02Manufacture

03Ground test

04Rocket integration

05Payload bay preparation

06Launch

02 / THE VEHICLE

STELA 1
One integrated
system.

A pressure-fed propulsion system using nitrous oxide and ethanol, custom avionics, an aluminium piston tank, composite airframe hardware and a two-stage recovery architecture.

The rocket remains in development. Ground testing, subsystem validation and structural work are guiding the programme toward planned 2-10 km missions.

PROPULSIONN₂O + ethanol

FEED SYSTEMPressure-fed / piston tank

PLANNED APOGEE2-10 km

RECOVERYDrogue and main parachutes

STELA 1 engine firing on the team's ground-test stand — **IN-HOUSE TEST STAND**Integrated engine testing and instrumentation

STELA 1 rocket concept rendering, enlarged view — STELA 1 / DESIGN RENDER

03 / ENGINEERINGFROM DRAWING TO HARDWARE

Inside
the vehicle.

Propulsion, tanks, fluid routing, avionics, composite structures and recovery are developed as parts of one integrated programme.

01 / PROPULSION

The engine

A liquid-propellant engine with a 6-impinging injector. The combustion chamber and nozzle are made from stainless steel, while the aluminium injectors combine 3D printing with CNC machining.

INJECTOR / CHAMBER / NOZZLE

02 / PROPELLANT FEED

The piston tank

A custom aluminium pressure vessel carries separate oxidiser and fuel chambers. An internal moving piston separates the propellants while coupling their supply pressures. Piston position is tracked by a custom 12 Hall-effect sensor array for state estimation and ground-test diagnostics. Simulations and hydrostatic pressure tests were carried out to confirm the tank strength.

12 HALL SENSORS / SIMULATION / HYDROTEST

03 / HYDRAULICS

The fluid system

The vehicle uses a pressure-fed layout for nitrous oxide and ethanol, with dedicated fill, vent and feed paths. The architecture connects the source bottle, piston tank, valves, quick disconnects and engine in one integrated flow scheme.

TANKING / VALVES / FEED LINES

04 / FLIGHT ELECTRONICS

The avionics

Custom-developed electronics control test sequences and capture pressure, temperature, thrust, GPS and piston-position measurements, with onboard logging and radio telemetry. The same architecture underpins both ground testing and future flight operations.

PCB DESIGN / SENSORS / TELEMETRY

05 / COMPOSITE STRUCTURE

The airframe

With WB Centrum Kompozytów, we are developing a carbon-fibre airframe tube and carbon-fibre fins, alongside a glass-fibre nose cone. These state-of-the-art composite components will form part of the next STELA 1 structural iteration.

CARBON AIRFRAME / STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT

06 / RECOVERY

The recovery system

The two-stage recovery system combines a cruciform drogue parachute with a 2.8 m semi-ellipsoidal main. The drogue stabilises the descent and helps limit drift; the main opens lower to reduce landing speed for a softer touchdown.

DROGUE / MAIN / TWO-STAGE DESCENT

04 / TEST CAMPAIGN2026 / STELA 1

The ground-test
campaign.

Each firing is a full-system test. We record the outcome, identify problems and use the evidence to improve STELA 1 before its first flight.

NEW / SESSION 55 - THE MEASUREMENTSInside the test data.Interactive charts, 15,492 logged samples, every sensor channel and the full test film.

RECENT TEST / FIELD FOOTAGE

An engine test, seen from the air.

Drone footage from a subsequent hot-fire test.

Watch the complete engine test

DRONE CAMERA / ENGINE GROUND TEST

TEST LOGRESULTS FROM THE ReSAT 2026 TEST REPORT

HF / 01

First integrated test

Propellant transfer and the piston worked as intended. Failure of the igniter prevented combustion in the main chamber.

VERIFIEDPropellant transfer & piston

HF / 02

Ignition achieved

Combustion occurred, but thrust was intermittent. The team identified restricted flow through the solenoid valves as the main suspected limitation and changed the valve design.

NEXT ITERATIONMain valve redesign

HF / 03

Test aborted

The planned firing was cancelled when the N₂O supply cylinder used for filling was found to be obstructed. No hot-fire was conducted.

ABORTEDBlocked source cylinder

HF / 04

Successful integrated hot-fire

The fourth test achieved a successful integrated engine firing, documented on video and in the test telemetry. The team continues to validate the system ahead of flight.

SUCCESSEngine hot-fire achieved

05 / MEASUREMENT & CONTROLIN-HOUSE FLIGHT ELECTRONICS

Sensing.
Control.
Telemetry.

An in-house avionics system monitors the vehicle, records every test and coordinates critical onboard functions.

Pressure, temperature, acceleration, rotation, thrust, tank mass, piston position and GPS are acquired by dedicated sensors and conversion channels. The controller manages logging, radio telemetry, valves, servos, igniters and camera triggering.

SENSOR INPUTS

Pressure & massPressure transducers, load cells

Motion & navigationIMU, high-g accelerometer, dual GPS

Temperature & positionThermocouples, 12 Hall sensors

PowerBattery voltage and current

CENTRAL CONTROLLER

ReSAT AVIONICSESP32-S3Acquisition, sequencing, data processing

Onboard SD + flash recording

DATA & ACTUATION

TelemetryRFD868x radio link

Flight sequencingIgniters, valves and servos

Imaging & feedbackCamera trigger, buzzer, status LEDs

TELEMETRY HARDWARERFD868x40+ km line-of-sight capability*

*Manufacturer specification with suitable antennas and settings, not a demonstrated STELA 1 flight range. Flight-link performance remains to be validated.

Radio specifications

06 / RESATTHE TEAM AND ITS BACKGROUND

CANSAT POLAND / 2025

It started
with CanSat.

ReSAT won first place in the Polish CanSat competition in 2025. That project gave us hands-on experience with small scientific payloads, testing, integration and flight operations.

Our mission is to develop a low-cost, small launch vehicle in Europe, with the flexibility to accommodate different payloads, experiments and mission requirements. STELA 1 is our first step toward that goal.

ReSAT on Instagram