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At the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication (FEEC BUT), members of the YSpace team, fellow students, academics, project partners and media representatives gathered to watch the launch together. For the students, the launch marked the symbolic culmination of several years of work, during which they designed, built, integrated and tested the satellite. The launch was streamed live by SpaceX. The team also shared updates throughout the launch on its Instagram profile. A recording of the launch and further information are available on the project website at cubesat.cz.
“Watching the rocket lift off carrying a satellite we had worked on for years was an incredible feeling. But an even greater moment came when KOSTKA transmitted its first signal from orbit – that was when we knew everything was working exactly as intended,” said Šimon Sloboda, Team Leader of YSpace.
“When we launched the Space Applications study programme four years ago, we could hardly have imagined that our students would design, build and send their own satellite into orbit in such a short time. I am especially pleased that KOSTKA is among the first student projects at BUT to truly bring together several faculties. Interdisciplinary projects like this give students experience that is difficult to gain in a traditional classroom and demonstrate the tremendous potential of our university,” said Michal Kubíček, Vice Dean for External and Internal Relations at FEEC BUT.The First Czech Student-Designed and Student-Built Satellite Is in Space. Developed by BUT's YSpace Team. | Author: Jakub Ryba
The Journey to Orbit
Approximately two minutes after liftoff, the rocket passed through the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure, and its first stage separated. The second stage then ignited and continued towards its target sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of approximately 600 kilometres.
Fifty-eight minutes after launch, a spring-loaded deployment mechanism released KOSTKA. At that moment, the onboard clock started and the flight computer booted up. After another hour, the antenna deployed, and shortly before noon the mission control station on the roof of FEEC successfully received the satellite’s first data.
KOSTKA will orbit the Earth approximately every 95 minutes, completing around fifteen orbits each day. It will therefore pass within range of the Brno ground station during two to four short flyovers daily. From there, students will monitor the satellite’s status and receive data from orbit.
Over the coming days, the team will verify KOSTKA’s hardware and software before beginning the mission itself, expected to start in about a month. During the mission, the satellite will measure UHF radio interference within its coverage area, transmit a radio beacon, serve as a digital repeater (digipeater) for the amateur radio community, and send telemetry data to ground stations around the world.
The KOSTKA project represents a major milestone for Czech student space activities. In addition to its technological contribution, it has enabled students to gain hands-on experience in developing space systems according to European space industry standards and to build on programmes of the European Space Agency (ESA). The YSpace team is already preparing its next mission – the CIMER satellite carrying a biological payload, which ESA selected for its Fly Your Satellite! Design Booster 2 programme.