BUT YSpace team succeeded in European Space Agency program. They are one step closer to stars.

The student team YSpace from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication at Brno University of Technology (FEEC BUT), which focuses on developing technologies for space environments, has come closer to realizing its CIMER mission. After applying to the Fly Your Satellite! Design Booster program, organized by the European Space Agency (ESA) in October, the team succeeded in presenting its mission to an expert committee and advanced to the shortlist of candidates for participation in the program, competing against university teams from all over Europe.

The YSpace team in front of the FEEC BUT campus, where they are based. | Autor: Jakub Rozboud

The Fly Your Satellite! Design Booster program offers student teams the opportunity to advance their space missions to the final development phase with the support of ESA. It is intended for the initial stages of satellite development and precedes the main Fly Your Satellite! program. In any case, it is a highly prestigious affair. Only 2 to 4 teams from across Europe succeed in the selection processes. YSpace has achieved a truly unique success!

“We are thrilled that ESA recognized the proposal for our mission. This success is the result of the long-term efforts of all team members, who prepared the mission in their spare time and outside of the academic year. YSpace members have already achieved individual successes within ESA, but now we have managed to add the most important one – a team success. However, we realize that we still have a long way to go and are preparing to take full advantage of all the opportunities offered. I would like to thank all the members for their hard work, as well as our partners, and especially the university for their support. Together with the Fly Your Satellite! Design Booster program, it brings us closer to our ultimate goal – launching the first Czech student-designed satellite,” said Filip Čapka, the technical lead of the CIMER mission and a student in the Master's Space Applications program at FEEC BUT, in response to the mission’s success.

Representatives of student teams at the ESA Academy in Belgium. | Autor: Archive YSapce

In preparation for the upcoming selection rounds of the program, YSpace members will participate in a Training Week in November, an intensive workshop in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. “We will attend a series of lectures led by ESA experts, covering all aspects of satellite development – from technical issues to project and cost management. Besides new knowledge and experience, we expect the event to provide us with mentoring that should help us improve the satellite design before submitting its documentation for the final selection rounds,” explained Dominik Klement, the leader of the YSpace team.

A demonstration of the satellite being developed by YSpace.

The CIMER mission (Cyanobacteria In Microgravity Environment Research) is the very first project of the YSpace team, which has been working on it since its founding in 2023. It is an inter-university collaboration with Mendel University in Brno, whose research team is preparing an experiment with desiccated (dried) cyanobacteria. The mission's goal is to send these bacteria into Earth’s orbit, revive them using a culture solution, and subsequently observe their activity, including measuring the oxygen (O₂) they produce. YSpace’s task will be to design and build a satellite that ensures the protection of the biological payload in the harsh conditions of space, thereby enabling the mission’s feasibility. The satellite’s development will also include a thorough analysis of predictable environmental influences.

“YSpace's success demonstrates that as interest in space technologies grows, BUT is moving in the right direction. It is amazing that just two years after opening the new Space Applications program, the university’s students have achieved an extraordinary international success in the space field. It is important to note that the mission’s benefits go beyond prestige, as its results could have a real impact on the exploration of distant parts of space. Cyanobacteria could potentially be used for oxygen production or water purification on interplanetary missions in the future,” commented Tomáš Götthans, the coordinator of the Space Applications study program at FEEC BUT, on YSpace’s achievements in collaboration with ESA.

President Petr Pavel also showed interest in the creative activities of YSpace and other student teams during his October visit to BUT. | Autor: Václav Koníček

President Petr Pavel also showed interest in YSpace's creative activities and those of other student teams during his October visit to BUT. He was intrigued by YSpace’s collaboration with ESA, the team’s innovation, and its ability to respond to current trends.

Fly Your Satellite! is a prestigious program funded by ESA, whose main goal is to launch a satellite, the so-called CubeSat, into Earth's orbit. The program also provides university teams developing the satellites with mentoring and the necessary infrastructure. It consists of four phases, which mirror the developmental stages of space missions.

The article also appeared as a press release.

Source: vut.cz/en