What began as an ordinary meeting at the Business Days Twente , the largest student career event in the Netherlands, has grown into a partnership driven by a shared ambition: making space travel more sustainable. RISE (Rocketry Innovations & Space Engineering) is an interdisciplinary student team officially affiliated with the University of Twente, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Saxion University of Applied Sciences. The team brings together more than 40 students from engineering and STEM programmes to design, build and test sustainable rocket technologies. They are developing technologies that could reshape how rockets are designed, launched, and recovered. ALTEN Nederland supports the team with the expertise needed to turn their ambitious ideas into real engineering progress.

“We’re students trying to build something complex. ALTEN has the knowledge to help us move forward when we get stuck.” 

A mission focused on sustainable innovation

RISE has set its sights on one of the biggest long-term challenges in the space sector: space debris. The team’s ultimate goal is to help clean up the growing amount of space debris orbiting Earth. But before that becomes a reality, they need to build a reliable, sustainable way to reach space.

That is why RISE focuses on reusable rockets powered by biofuel. At the heart of this effort is their self-developed hybrid rocket engine, Green Phoenix, which relies on biofuel incorporating beeswax rather than traditional paraffin. This engine is designed to power their rocket, Alpha, capable of performing a controlled, engine-powered, and retropropulsive landing. No student team has ever achieved this.

RISE works in deliberate stages: developing the engine, performing a 100-metre “hopper test” with a controlled landing, and finally, attempting Alpha’s first launch. In parallel, the team continues to build smaller rockets to test subsystems and expand their technical understanding.

Why reusability matters 

The team is clear on their standing: launching rockets into the sea is unsustainable and no longer acceptable for a future-proof space industry. Beyond the environmental impact, economics play a crucial role. SpaceX has demonstrated that reusing rockets drastically lowers the cost per kilogram to orbit. Europe currently lacks this capability and relies heavily on the United States for access to space, which affects both strategic independence and long-term security.
By working on reusable technology now, RISE hopes to help train the next generation of engineers who will build Europe’s future space infrastructure.

The challenges of pioneering work 

Like many young engineering teams pushing boundaries, RISE faces obstacles: limited budget, regulatory hurdles, lack of a dedicated workshop, and gaps in specialised knowledge. Instead of slowing the team down, it reinforces their belief in what they are trying to prove: if a group of students can build a sustainable rocket, then established companies should certainly be able to do the same.

How ALTEN supports RISE

ALTEN’s role in this partnership is to provide the technical expertise the team requires when they reach the limits of their experience. RISE describes the collaboration as essential: “We’re students trying to build something complex. ALTEN has the knowledge to help us move forward when we get stuck.”

This year’s focus is on designing an antenna system capable of transmitting video data during flight, a key component for live streaming tests and analysing performance.

Looking ahead 

RISE’s roadmap remains ambitious. This year, they aim to complete their new rocket for subsystem testing and to build and test the Green Phoenix engine. Next year, they plan to construct their hopper and perform a real flight test using Green Phoenix to evaluate its performance in live conditions.

As for the future of the partnership, the team sees many possibilities: support in designing new rockets, creating control algorithms, developing robust software, testing electronics, or advising on test procedures. With a complex and challenging journey ahead, they are grateful for ALTEN’s continuous guidance as they move closer to achieving their long-term vision.