Ireland’s first satellite tv for pc EIRSAT-1 completes its mission

Ireland’s first satellite tv for pc, EIRSAT-1 has accomplished its mission orbiting the Earth. The CubeSat, which was constructed and launched by college students and college of University College Dublin (UCD), will de-orbit within the subsequent day or two.

EIRSAT-1 was launched into house in 2023, supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) ‘Fly Your Satellite’ programme funded by the Irish Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. It carried three onboard payloads for its low-Earth orbit mission which performed three experiments, managed by college students and employees at mission management in UCD.  

Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail inside the Irish Government, Alan Dillon, TD, stated: “I wish to supply my congratulations to the UCD staff concerned in EIRSAT-1 for his or her expertise, management and dedication to attaining what has been a pioneering mission. I used to be very happy to be taught of the success of every of EIRSAT-1’s scientific payloads – GMOD which was developed with elements from onsemi in Cork and EMOD which was developed with ENBIO based mostly in Dublin – and that the mission was additionally supported by provision of in-kind assist by different corporations. This demonstrates the potential and ambition which could be achieved when trade and academia collaborate. 

“I am very proud that the mission was supported by my Department, through our membership of the European Space Agency. EIRSAT-1 demonstrates the value of membership of the European Space Agency for a small country, such as Ireland, giving our researchers and companies access to a unique platform to develop novel technologies and strengthen our national capabilities in space research and technology.”

Dr Padraig Doolan, Irish Delegation to ESA at Enterprise Ireland, stated: “The successful conclusion of EIRSAT-1 marks a milestone for Ireland’s space sector. It shows how Ireland not only participates, but also leads, complex space missions from design through to operations. The mission is also a strong example of academia and industry working hand-in-hand, and Irish companies providing critical technologies and expertise. The knowledge, skills and innovations developed are already feeding into new initiatives and opportunities. Enterprise Ireland is proud to have supported this trailblazing mission, and we are excited to work with our partners to build on its success, accelerating Ireland’s growth as a space-faring nation.”

Director of the EIRSAT-1 mission and UCD C-Space, the Centre for Space Research, Professor Lorraine Hanlon stated: “Although it’s a sad day for the team, we’re proud that EIRSAT-1 has reached the end of its mission having achieved all of its goals. We’re keen to apply what we have learned, building new missions, and collaborating to grow Ireland’s space sector. I want to acknowledge the achievements of everyone who played a role on the team, and worked incredibly hard to make it such a success.”

UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, Professor Kate Robson Brown stated: “Ireland became a space faring nation with the launch of our first ever satellite, EIRSAT-1, and I congratulate all the staff and students at UCD whose dedication and expertise over many years has driven the success of this mission. UCD has deep expertise in space science and engineering and is in prime position to take Ireland forward into a new and ambitious era of growth for the space sector which will deliver both scientific discovery and societal impact. Our researchers are working at the frontiers of next-generation in-orbit technologies and they, and our graduates, are already bringing that expertise to industry.”

During the mission, the Gamma-Ray Module (GMOD) detected 10 cosmological gamma-ray bursts and two photo voltaic flares, contributing to scientific data and understanding concerning the universe. The Wave Based Control (WBC) module examined and validated a novel management system for superior satellite tv for pc pointing in house. The ENBIO module (EMOD) was a supplies testing platform to check the efficiency of thermal administration coatings in low-Earth orbit for the primary time. Over the course of the mission, the EIRSAT-1 staff published 24 educational journal and convention papers sharing the outcomes of the analysis and technological developments.

More than 50 college students, principally postgraduate in Physics and Mechanical and Materials Engineering and a few in Computer Science and Mathematics, realized end-to-end house methods abilities not beforehand seen in Irish trade. These included 13 PhD college students funded by prestigious Irish Research Council scholarships. In 2024, UCD delivered a brand new ‘Spacecraft Operations’ module as a part of an MSc in Space Science and Technology, developed by EIRSAT-1 lead methods engineer and chief operator Dr David Murphy. The course skilled an additional 20 college students who gained expertise working the satellite tv for pc in orbit.

The success of the EIRSAT-1 mission has straight supported the event and funding of extra tasks and programmes by UCD, together with the National Space Subsystems and Payloads Initiative (NSSPI), a programme launched in March 2024 led by UCD’s Dr David McKeown (engineering and WBC educational lead on EIRSAT-1), with over €7.9 million in funding from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund. NSSPI is growing next-generation satellite tv for pc management methods utilizing model-based design and hardware-in-the-loop testing to speed up innovation in Irish house know-how.

The Research-Ireland funded GIFTS mission builds on the success of GMOD and is led by UCD’s Prof Sheila McBreen. It is a 6U CubeSat mission to detect and localise gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) which can enhance sky protection of current GRB observatories and contribute to the search of electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational-wave occasions.

In addition, UCD C-Space has been chosen by ESA for a follow-on mission known as COMCUBES, led by Dr David Murphy, that can develop a CubeSat swarm to ship sooner and extra detailed details about gamma-ray bursts. Scottish house firm AAC Clyde Space has come aboard as accomplice accountable for system design for the Phase A examine.

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