Watch live: Ireland's first-ever satellite blasts off into space from California
Members of University College Dublin's EIRSAT-1 team ahead of their departure to California for the launch of Ireland's first-ever satellite. Picture: Andres Poveda
After more than six years of research, design, building and testing, Ireland's first-ever satellite is being launched into space.
The launch of EIRSAT-1 (Educational Irish Research Satellite 1), developed by a team from University College Dublin (UCD) in the framework of the European Space Agency's (ESA) academy educational programme, takes place at 6pm this evening.
The satellite, which is roughly the size of a small shoebox, will be placed aboard the Space Falcon 9 rocket, which will blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Once EIRSAT-1 reaches space, it will carry out three experiments in space and report data back to a command centre on the UCD campus. Its primary experiment will be to detect gamma ray bursts.
Alongside an experiment to detect gamma rays, its other payload includes a novel attitude control system designed by the Dynamics and Control Group in the UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, as well as an in-orbit demonstration of a protective coating technology developed in Ireland by UCD and Enbio Ltd.
EIRSAT-1 is a flagship project of UCD C-Space, the UCD Centre for Space Research, the UCD School of Physics and UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
It is also part of the ESA Academy’s 'Fly Your Satellite!' initiative, which offers university students training, space-expert mentoring and hands-on guidance throughout the entire life cycle of a professional satellite project; from design to building, tests, launch and operations. The ESA also facilitated its launch.
Follow updates on the EIRSAT-1 launch broadcast on ESA TV, now scheduled for Friday December 1st: https://t.co/CzchyNjZoU
— EIRSAT-1 (@EIRSAT1) November 29, 2023
"This has been a truly amazing project to work on. Our team in UCD is the first in the country to design and build a satellite that will be launched into orbit and then operated from Ireland," said Cork woman Laura Cotter, who worked on the project.
"Having started on this project as a student, and worked on it for so long, it is extremely exciting to now be this close to launch."
