Varsity students build’s Ireland first satellite
No fewer than 50 students from the University College Dublin have been involved in the construction of the Republic of Ireland’s first successfully launched satellite, BBC reports Saturday.
The satellite, EIRSAT-1 is a two-unit CubeSat [miniature cube satellite] equipped with three experiments and was deployed into orbit from a Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket on Friday evening from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States.
The student-built satellite was constructed under the guidance of the European Space Agency.
EIRSAT-1 is part of the ESA Academy’s Fly Your Satellite! initiative – providing university students with comprehensive training, mentoring, and hands-on guidance for the complete life cycle of a professional satellite project – from design and construction to testing, launch, and operations, the report noted.
The launch of the Educational Irish Research Satellite 1 (EIRSAT-1) has been described as a “major milestone” in the nation’s space industry.
Irish Enterprise Minister, Neale Richmond, offered his “heartfelt congratulations” to the UCD academic and student team involved in the mission, saying, “History was made here today, and everyone should be proud of the part they played in this milestone for Ireland and its space sector.”
The team which involved nine doctorate degree holders also had students from the departments of physics, mathematics, mechanical engineering and computer science.
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