Calgary’s first student-built satellite tv for pc to launch in 2026

University of Calgary college students are making ready to make native historical past with their mission: launching town’s first-ever satellite tv for pc to review a uncommon purple mild within the sky.

FrontierSat is a CubeSat, a nanosatellite in regards to the measurement of a loaf of bread, and designed and constructed by college students from the Schulich School of Engineering and the Faculty of Science.

It’s set to review a uncommon aurora-like phenomenon generally known as STEVE, or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.

Additionally, it should carry the Miniaturized Plasma Image developed by Dr. Jonathan Burchill, an assistant professor and advisor to the scholar house staff, to measure the “winds and temperatures of charged particles” within the Earth’s ambiance.

The satellite tv for pc, which has been years within the making, handed vibration assessments to make sure it will possibly survive the journey to house with the mission to review STEVE.

“This little camera here with the remove before flight is going to be used by our attitude determination and control system to kind of focus on earth and help the satellite orient itself,” defined Aarti Chandiramani, a geomatics and aerospace engineering pupil.

After years of labor, rigorous testing, and securing a launch spot aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, the scholars are one step nearer to seeing their satellite tv for pc orbit greater than 500 kilometres above Earth.

Through this mission, they hope to encourage future generations to get into house science.

“This is makeable by people that don’t have a lot of experience, which is pretty cool,” Pierre Dawe, a mechanical engineering graduate pupil, advised CityNews.

“Space is a lot more available than people think … with the right resources and organization and support for universities and like larger governing bodies.”

FrontierSat will launch into house in early 2026.