A team at the University of Texas has won first place in the latest round of the University Nanosat Program (UNP) sponsored by the US Air Force: The University of Texas at Austin Wins First Place in National Nanosatellite Competition – Univ. of Texas News

The same team won in 2005 with the two FASTRAC Satellites, which were launched in 2010.

More about the competition can be found at University Nanosatellite Program – Wikipedia.

From the UT announcement:

A panel of expert judges selected winners in two categories: ARMADILLO was selected as the first-place winner in the CubeSat class; and The Georgia Institute of Technology won in the Nanosatellite class. CubeSats are miniature handheld satellites that are generally built using off-the-shelf electronics components, making them very cost-effective. The ARMADILLO satellite’s dimensions are 10 cm x 10 cm x 34 cm.

The Cockrell School of Engineering’s team consists of more than 50 graduate and undergraduate students who worked for two years on the ARMADILLO (Atmosphere Related Measurements and Detection of submILLimeter Objects) mission. The competition took place at the Air Force Research Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., on Jan. 11.

Once in orbit, ARMADILLO will measure space debris, which will allow scientists to characterize that debris and better understand the sources and life cycles of space pollution. Space debris is a hazard for operational spacecraft. Today, ground-based radar can only detect and track space objects larger than 10 centimeters.

Lightsey said developing small, inexpensive satellites such as ARMADILLO marks a big step in the advancement of space exploration.

“We’re making these small satellites with much more advanced technology and capability than has ever been done before,” Lightsey said. “By decreasing the size of the satellite, it will also be possible for groups of satellites to work cooperatively and perform operations simultaneously, such as building structures in space and taking measurements collectively.”