Student satellite projects & programs – Oct.29.2026

For many decades, students in university programs have designed and built small satellites and operated them in orbit. With the arrival of standardized Cubesat designs and hardware, high school and even grade school students have joined in the smallsat fun. Such endeavors grew out of the AMSAT initiative of the amateur radio community, which launched the first non-government satellites in 1961. (For more smallsat history, see Satellite Building in the HS archives.) Note that the term Amateur Satellites refers to the use of amateur radio bands for communications, not the quality or sophistication of the satellites.

Here is another sampling of recent student smallsat projects and programs:

** Georgia Tech students begin operating ASCENT Propulsion Dual Mode spacecraft in 500 km orbit: Georgia Tech student team operates new satellite in space | FOX 5 Atlanta – Oct.6.2026

Georgia Tech students made initial contact last week with a satellite launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to test next-generation space propulsion systems, according to the university. …

… A team of student operators at Georgia Tech sent their first command — “Go Jackets!” — to the small satellite on Thursday at 6:21 p.m.

Operating out of the Space Systems Design Laboratory Mission Operations Center in Atlanta, the students will run daily shifts to track and control the spacecraft during a nine-month demonstration, officials explained.

** The non-profit Libre Space Foundation (LSF) in Greece built a picosatellite for a school program in Kazakhstan: Greek Space Technology Sends Kazakh School Into Space | Greek City Times – Oct.8.2026

LSF was surprised when Kazakhstan’s Space Agency approached it directly after learning about its work at international conferences.

“They wanted an estimate of how much a ‘pocket-class’ satellite would cost for use in a school in Kazakhstan,” LSF vice president Eleftherios Kosmas told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA).

He said Kazakhstan appeared keen to gradually develop an independent space programme but had a limited budget, so officials decided to start with a school.

LSF initially provided an engineering model designed only for laboratory testing and used it to train the students. It then built the satellite that eventually launched into orbit.

Here is an article about the launch of five LSF satellites, including the Kazakh picosat, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on Oct.1.2026: Five new LSF satellites in orbit | Libre Space Foundation – Oct.12.2026

On 1 October 2026, four SIDLOC PocketQubes and NIS-PQ, a QUBIK PocketQube built for a Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Astana, Kazakhstan, launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare. That brings the number of Libre Space Foundation satellites put in orbit to ten.

** University of Kentucky students designed twelve capsules released from orbit into upper atmosphere to test thermal protection techniques: NASA Demonstrates Next-Generation Heat Shield Technologies | NASA – Oct.9.2026

NASA is testing heat shields that can keep astronauts safe as they return from missions to the Moon and Mars in an unusual way: by taking out the trash.

When Northrop Grumman 24th cargo resupply mission for NASA undocked from the International Space Station, it carried a fleet of 12 small, experimental capsules designed to test the next generation of thermal protection materials that could serve as the foundation for future heat shields.

The experiment, called the Kentucky Reentry Probe Experiment (KREPE-3), is the third in a series of low-cost, high-impact missions that use the final moments of the cargo spacecraft’s lifespan to gather valuable data.

The experiment is a collaboration among the University of Kentucky, the state of Kentucky, NASA’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), several NASA centers, and other federal and commercial partners.

“KREPE-3 is a great example of the goals of NASA’s EPSCoR program,” said David Berger, EPSCoR program manager at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington. “We are supporting the next generation of scientists and engineers as they develop unique projects that benefit their education and NASA’s mission goals.”

** Scottish and Japanese students designing cubesat to carry out investigation of the distillation of whiskey in weightlessness: Project which aims to make spirits in the sky could be a taste of the future | University of Glasgow – Oct.5.2026

Engineers from universities in Scotland and Japan are planning to boldly go where no dram has gone before with the launch of a new research project to distil whisky in space.

The researchers are planning to send whisky-making materials into space aboard a tiny satellite and use an artificial ‘tongue’ to taste tiny changes in the tipple’s terpenes as it orbits the Earth.

The project aims to test for the first time how the complex chemistry of whisky-making is affected by the harsh environment of space.

Their findings could help pave the way for orbital factories where molecules which are difficult or impossible to synthesise on Earth can be manufactured for use in new medications for conditions like diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

** Cornell student group reports on light sail experiments in space including the successful test of a light sail deployment from a CubeSat, which itself had been deployed into orbit from the ISS: Cornell University successfully deploys free-flying light sails in orbit | Cornell Univ./EurekAlert! – Sept.25.2026

Students in Cornell’s Space Systems Design Studio (SSDS) have just published mission results for two unique light sail experiments. These sails are slightly larger than a pizza box, and harness momentum from photons to accelerate to high velocities. With ChipSats onboard – gram-scale spacecraft that fit in the palm of your hand, the sails can become free-flyers. They origami-fold into CubeSats for launch, and completely separate when deployed, allowing them to be far smaller and lighter than traditional solar sails. The ChipSats provide all ground communications and steering capabilities, for a fraction of the mass and cost.

The two experiments – Alpha CubeSat and Sailing to the Stars – launched to the ISS in late 2025 on NG-23 and Crew-11, respectively.

Alpha is 1U CubeSat, funded by NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, that deployed the light sail in low Earth orbit. Through the TinyGS network, amateur radio operators around the world managed to establish contact with the small ChipSat spacecraft onboard prior to the sail’s quick demise due to atmospheric drag.

The second experiment took place solely within the ISS. It involved testing systems for deployment of small sails:

Sailing to the Stars is a companion ISS experiment that tested the deployment of six of these light sails in the microgravity environment of the space station. Funded by ISS National Laboratory in collaboration with Rhodium Scientific, it obtained critical video footage and IMU data that helps the students better understand the sail-deployment dynamics. Two different CubeSat-scale deployer designs were tested – both entirely 3D-printed with modular “CubeSat-LEGO” components, spin-stabilized with laptop hard disk drive reaction wheels, and commanded via TV remotes – to assess which release mechanism displayed more stable kinematics. The insights gained from this experiment inform the design of future missions.

The two light sail projects

were designed, assembled, and tested by students, with the original concept for Alpha proposed by a high school student as part of the Museum of Science Fiction’s International CubeSat Design Competition. Since 2016, over 150 students contributed to the spacecraft projects, with over 50% interning or working in the aerospace industry after graduation.

Papers reporting on the results of the projects can be found here.

Here’s a video from 2022 describing the Alpha CubeSat project:

This video from March 20, 2025, shows the Alpha CubeSat prepared for shipment from Cornell “to Houston for final preparations before launch”:

** Student engineering team at Arizona State University sends CubeSat into orbit via ISS: CubeSat project propels students forward | Engineering News at ASU – July.28.2026

When students begin their engineering education, there’s no way to predict where their work will take them. For most, projects remain in classrooms, laboratories or on computer screens. For a team of Arizona State University students, however, years of effort have reached Earth’s orbit.

Throughout the last two years, students from Sun Devil Satellite Laboratory, or SDSL, designed, built and tested Coconut, a CubeSat — a miniaturized, cube-shaped satellite used for space research and technology demonstrations. The CubeSat was deployed from the International Space Station, or ISS, into Earth’s orbit.

For the students behind the mission, the deployment is a culmination of years of volunteer work, technical problem-solving and persistence. Ricardo Ontiveros, an electrical engineering alumnus from the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU. Ontiveros graduated this spring and served as an electrical lead and later team lead on the project. He says the countless hours of volunteer work were undoubtedly worth the rare opportunity to see a spacecraft they built launch into space.

** Solar neutrino research CubeSat built with the help of Wichita State students reaches orbit: Wichita State satellite prototype hits milestone with first transfer of data from orbit | Wichita State news – Sept.4.2026

On May 3, a satellite prototype created at Wichita State was launched into low space orbit by NASA. On Aug. 4, when the first delivery of data came through, Professor Nickolas Solomey and his entire team of faculty and students breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“It’s something to be excited about for a university that prides itself on technology and educating students to do creative technology,” said Dr. Solomey, professor of mathematics, statistics and physics. “We’re out there measuring things. That is what scared me the most – ‘Is this experiment detector going to work? Because I cannot go up there and fix it like experiments in the lab on earth.’”

The CubeSat project, known as SNAPPY (Solar Neutrino Astro-Particle PhYsic) CubeSat, is a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC)-funded collaboration. It aims to validate the feasibility of a larger detector positioned closer to the sun, where the neutrino flux from the fusion core is expected to be 1,000 times or higher than at Earth.

…

Solomey leads the interdisciplinary project, which also includes Dr. Holger Meyer, professor of physics, Atri Dutta, professor of aerospace engineering, and Professor Hyuck Kwon, of electrical engineering. Thirty-six graduate and undergraduate students, to date, have worked on the project since its start in 2017.

** Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Canadian CubeSat Project (CCP) trains student for roles in space industry: From student CubeSats to major defence research contract | Canadian Space Agency – July.28.2026

What began as a student satellite project is now helping position the University of Victoria (UVic) and its Centre for Aerospace Research (CfAR) as a key player in Canada’s growing space sector. …

… A key chapter in that journey began with the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Canadian CubeSat Project (CCP),, launched in 2017 to give post-secondary students the opportunity to design, build and operate real satellites. At UVic, students embraced the challenge through ORCASat, a CubeSat project that gave them hands-on exposure to every stage of a successful space mission.

The skills and knowledge developed through the ORCASat project did not disappear when the mission ended. Many former CCP participants continued to be involved in space engineering activities through employment and graduate studies at UVic, developing novel space technologies and training highly qualified personnel, and supporting innovation across Canada’s space industry.

This ongoing involvement has created a cycle of mentorship and knowledge transfer. Former participants continue to support students involved in CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM (CUBICS), the CSA‘s current CubeSat development program for post-secondary students.

** ShakthiSAT Explained: Mission Lead Sam Richards Details Global Girls’ 12U CubeSat Mission | India Today on Youtube

ShakthiSAT, a 12U CubeSat mission shaped by thousands of female students globally, is designed for low Earth orbit operations with a two-year mission lifetime. Mission Lead Sam Richards detailed the satellite’s architecture and international payloads, which include an Egyptian drag sail, American space domain awareness cameras, an Australian thermal camera for fire detection, a Swiss graphene magnetometer, and edge AI computing modules from Brazil and the Philippines in partnership with Portugal. The satellite utilises deployable solar panels, reaction wheels, and student-wound magnetorquers to achieve stable orientation and navigation. To address space debris, onboard AI chips analyse orbital objects and transmit actionable insights instead of bulky raw data. At the end of the mission, the deployable drag sail will act as a frontal aerodynamic shield, accelerating atmospheric drag to de-orbit the spacecraft within days to weeks, ensuring complete burn-up and sustainable space operations.

** 14 year old Indian girl accepted into ShakthiSAT lunar cubesat project: From Government School to Lunar Mission: How a Carpenter’s Daughter Kandula Jessie Made It to a Global Space Programme | Times Now – July.26.2026

Fourteen-year-old Kandula Jessie, a student of Zilla Parishad Girls High School in Dhavaleswaram, Andhra Pradesh, has been selected for Mission ShakthiSAT, the world’s first global all-girls lunar CubeSat programme.

Chosen from nearly 12,000 applicants across 108 countries, she is among just 20 students selected from India and the only participant from Andhra Pradesh to be part of the ambitious moon mission.

More about the Mission ShakthiSAT: Class 10 Student on Moon Mission? Chhattisgarh Schoolgirl Makes It to Global ShakthiSAT Programme | Times Now – June.26.2026

Mahima Rajput, a Class 10 student from Raipur, has been selected for the international student space mission ‘ShakthiSAT’ representing India. It is a programme that will bring together female students from around 108 countries to participate in the mission and learn about satellite technology.

Sharing the proud moment, Mahima said, “My principal informed my guidance teacher about the mission, and she registered me for it,” in an interview with ANI. She further explained that after registration, she received various learning modules that helped her strengthen her understanding of science and satellite technology.

** Oman program trains young students in smallsat technology and operations: Omani youth get hands-on training in small satellites | Muscat Daily – Aug.18.2026

Omani youth are getting hands-on experience in CubeSat technology under a two-week training programme aimed at building skills for the country’s emerging space sector.

The Oman Orbit programme, organised by the Youth Centre in cooperation with Etco Space, introduces participants to the design, assembly and operation of small satellites while linking space applications to national development priorities.

Training begins with an overview of the space sector before moving into practical work on satellite subsystems, wireless communications, Global Positioning System technology and Earth observation data.

Participants are also developing graduation projects based on skills acquired during the camp.

The programme focuses on the main systems used in CubeSats, including satellite structures, power, onboard computing, control systems and communications. The aim is to give participants a practical understanding of how the individual components work together in orbit.

** Nigerian student aims to develop CubeSat and other home-grown space engineering capabilities: Lagos State University Engineering Student Bags First Class, Shares Achievements on Campus | Legit.ng – Aug.28.2026

For his final-year project, Agose turned his attention to a subject with significant implications for Nigeria’s growing interest in space technology. He researched spacecraft structures and locally sourced materials, working on a CubeSat qualification model and exploring what affordable, home-grown space engineering could look like within the Nigerian context.

** Recent Australian meeting focused on growing the fledgling smallsat industry: LCC Asia Pacific Sponsors CubeSatPlus 2026 at UNSW Sydney | mycarrollcountynews.com – Aug.20.2026

CubeSatPlus is an important meeting point for Australia and the region’s rapidly developing CubeSat and small-satellite community, bringing together scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs,

students, industry and policymakers. The outstanding 2025 event led directly to our decision to sponsor this year.

The 2026 theme — “Youth in Space: Building an Ecosystem” — emphasises students, early-career professionals and emerging leaders who will shape Australia’s space industry. Developing this talent is critical to Australia’s ability to compete globally.

** Bangladesh university group participates in CubeSat training program in China: NSU attends APSCO CubeSat Competition Summer Camp in Xi’an, China | North South University – Sept.9.2026

A research team from North South University (NSU) recently attended the APSCO CubeSat Competition (ACC) summer camp held in the historic city of Xi’an in China. CubeSats are a class of nano-satellites. The ACC summer camp was held between August 12 – 25, 2026.

The North South University research team was led by Dr. Shahnewaz Siddique from NSU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

During the summer camp, the NSU team attended hands-on training on the different subsystems of CubeSats, such as the onboard computer, control system, communication system, power system, structure integration, thermal management and ground station interfacing. The hands-on training was held on the campus of Northwestern Polytechnical University, a top ranked university in China.

** Korean university student teams selected for CubeSat competition: KARI selects 7 university teams to launch student-built CubeSats on Nuri | DongA Science – Oct.22.2026

University and graduate students in Korea are set to develop small satellites that will carry out diverse missions such as disaster monitoring and space environment observation. The completed satellites are scheduled to be launched into space aboard the Nuri rocket.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced on the 22nd that it has selected a total of seven teams — five in the junior category and two in the senior category — that will begin satellite development in the “7th Small (Cube) Satellite Competition.”

The Small (Cube) Satellite Competition is an event where university and graduate students form teams with their academic advisors to propose satellite missions and designs, and the selected teams then participate in actual satellite development. The junior category focuses on creative satellites that perform a single mission, while the senior category develops satellites that carry out multiple complex missions.

Here is an article about one of the teams selected: Korea Aerospace University to Launch ‘Solar Sail Satellite’ Aboard Nuri (KSLV-II) in 2028 | First-Class Business Newspaper Financial News

Korea Aerospace University will develop a next-generation small satellite that navigates space using the pressure of sunlight without propellant and autonomously leaves orbit when its mission ends, and launch it aboard Nuri (KSLV-II) in October 2028.

Korea Aerospace University said on the 22nd that a research team led by Professor Noh Jin-ho of its Space Engineering program (KAUSAIL) had been selected in the beginner category of the 7th CubeSat Competition, hosted by the Korea AeroSpace Administration and organized by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and had received its certificate of selection at a ceremony held on the 22nd at the KT Human Resources Development Center in Daejeon.

The selected satellite, KAUSAIL-D1, is a 3U CubeSat measuring approximately 30 centimeters. Once in orbit, it will deploy a large solar sail measuring 3 meters by 3 meters. Its primary mission is to demonstrate a next-generation space propulsion technology that uses the tiny pressure created when sunlight strikes an object’s surface to move through orbit without fuel.

** Canadian Aleasat student designed and built CubeSat tested at ESA facilities such as a large vacuum and vibration

chamber: Three weeks, five tests: ALEASAT one step closer to space | ESA Education – Sept.17.2026

The ESA Academy is offering student teams support with the preparation and execution of environmental testing of their student designed and built hardware through dedicated access to the CubeSat Support Facility (CSF). The Test Opportunities programme is an educational opportunity for University or other tertiary education institution student teams from an eligible state who would like to receive support and training in conducting an environmental test campaign. This opportunity is a response to the ESA Agenda 2025 ‘Open labs’ action, where ESA Education opens up access to its testing facilities and enables sharing of technical competences to support, through the training of students, the enhancement of European industrial competitiveness.

ALEASAT is a student-built CubeSat developed by students from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University in Canada. As part of their participation in the Fly Your Satellite! programme, the team travelled to ESA’s CubeSat Support Facility to subject several key spacecraft elements to a comprehensive environmental test campaign.

The campaign was particularly ambitious, spanning three consecutive weeks of testing and combining multiple test activities. During the first two weeks, vibration and thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing were conducted in parallel, requiring the team to prepare and operate multiple subsystems while managing different test procedures, functional checks and inspection activities.

** More articles about student space projects:

Aerospace Engineering Student Yang Jun-young (Class of 2022) Successfully Launches GBSAT CubeSat Aboard the Fifth Nuri Rocket | KAU News – Oct.28.2026 – “On October 7, at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, eyes remained fixed on the screens long after the Nuri rocket rose into the sky. Once the rocket reached its target orbit, it deployed CubeSats two at a time into space, and finally, the deployment of GBSAT was confirmed. Yang Jun-young, a fourth-year student in Aerospace Engineering and the project manager (PM) of GBSAT, was on standby inside the center to witness the moment. Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. GBSAT began when seven alumni of Gyeonggi Buk Science High School reunited after enrolling at Korea Aerospace University, KAIST, DGIST, Seoul National University, and GIST. They entered the Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s CubeSat competition as first-year undergraduate students, even though the competition had traditionally been dominated by university research laboratories. Their efforts earned them the opportunity to launch their satellite aboard the Nuri rocket…“
Samara University Takes the Global Space Stage: Cutting-Edge Research Presented at the 77th International Astronautical Congress | Samara University – Oct.28.2026 – “Igor Belokonov, Professor and Head of the Interuniversity Department of Space Research, shared the department’s latest research results with the international space community. Additionally, international students, postgraduates, and 2025 Master’s graduates presented their own scientific reports at the congress.“
After School STEM Programme, Dassault Foundation Expands Space Education Pipeline to Universities | Business Upturn – Sept.15.2026 – “La Fondation Dassault Systèmes, India is linking school-level aerospace education with university and industry-readiness programmes as part of its broader effort to develop talent for India’s space ecosystem. The foundation has concluded its “My First Aerospace Program”, a multi-city initiative that introduced 150 students aged 13–16 in Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram and Pune to practical aerospace projects.“
WSU [Wichita Statue Univ.] professor collaborates with NASA for conference | The Sunflower – Sept.12.2026 – “On May 3, WSU’s CubeSat — a solar detector prototype — was launched into space. The project was funded by NIAC and was built by Solomey, other professors and a team of students“
Binar-567 CubeSat trio set for launch in Q4 2026 | SPACE & DEFENSE – Aug.31.2026 – “Binar-5 will carry student-designed payloads developed through the BinarX Student Payload Development Program, aimed at giving Western Australian high school students the chance to run experiments in space as part of a satellite mission.“
Cal Poly’s CP3 CubeSat Still in Orbit 19 Years After 2007 Dnepr Launch | KeepTrack – Oct.28.2026 – “CP3 is a single-unit CubeSat built and operated by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), the school that wrote the CubeSat standard. It is a 10 cm box with a deployed antenna, a dry mass of 1 kg, and power from solar cells and batteries. It carries no propulsion. It launched on April 17, 2007, aboard a Russian Dnepr from Baikonur. More than 19 years later it is still in orbit and still tracked, about 617 km at its lowest point and 742 km at its highest. Even with no thrusters to hold it there, it has stayed up nearly two decades. Its drag-driven decay is slow enough to measure in meters per day.“