Big Red Sat-1 was the first satellite for Nebraska, and a technology demonstration for perovskite solar cells, a next generation solar cell technology and potential successor to GaAs.  Our team was composed of students from Nebraska in middle and high school, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in the UNL system.  During our 105-day mission, BRS-1 characterized the performance of three perovskite solar cell architectures and of a reference GaAs solar module that was of a 1/3U form factor using our custom curve tracing instrumentation. We found the composition of (FAPbI 3)0.95(MAPbBr3)0.05, along with an improved hole transport layer and perovskite interface, outperformed the other two compositions by maintaining more than half of its measured efficiency from ground tests.  The other two compositions degraded significantly from launch conditions.  The 1”x1” quartz substrate seemed to help with reducing thermal stress on the perovskite solar cells, ranging from +/- 15 degrees Celsius during the flight, while the GaAs cell, which had a larger surface area, ranged from -30 degrees Celsius to 20 degrees Celsius. Due to the custom designed instrumentation, the mission was incredibly low power and operated without power issues for the duration of the mission.  With our interdisciplinary team of students, UNL, NASA, NREL, and our generous donors, we brought this project from conception to mission completion within four years.  BRS-1 was integrated into NRCSD27 on 12 December 2023, launched on SPX-30 on 21 March 2024, and deployed from the ISS on 18 April 2024, with our prescribed 90-day mission completing on 17 July 2024 and deorbit occurring around 1 August 2024.  This was the first demonstration of perovskite solar cells on a satellite in low earth orbit and provides a necessary first step for the use of perovskite solar cells on the lunar surface for the Artemis mission.

CATSAT is a 6U Cubesat that was launched as a part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative Program on board NASA’s Elana 43 flight on 3rd July, 2024. The spacecraft was trapped in its dispenser for ~13 days until it was freed during a 2nd stage orbital maneuver. Although there appears to have been damage to its onboard systems as a result of its unconventional deployment, the student team persevered and was able to gain control of the spacecraft, develop and upload software work-arounds, and make necessary modifications to mission operations. We are happy to report CatSat has now been in operation for over a year. CATSAT’s primary mission includes both science and technology demonstrations. CATSAT’s science objectives are to demonstrate the ability to make high-definition images with a low-cost CubeSat, as well as measure diurnal variations in Earth’s ionosphere. Images are now taken and downloaded on a daily basis. Ionospheric studies will soon be accomplished by monitoring polarization variations in the UHF downlink. For the technology demonstration, CATSAT is set to deploy a novel 0.5m, high gain inflatable X-band antenna and use it for high data rate communications. Upon successful deployment of the high gain inflatable antenna, CATSAT will attempt near real time downlinks of HD Earth imagery. CATSAT is expected to remain in orbit to early-mid 2026. More than 50 undergrad and graduate students from multiple departments have contributed to the success of CatSat. The CatSat program has benefited greatly from continued support from its industrial partners; FreeFall Aerospace Inc. for the inflatable antenna, Rincon Research Corp for the AstroSDR and ground station support, and GOMspace Inc. for the spacecraft bus. More details about the CatSat mission (e.g., design, assembly, and images) can be found at our website.

CroCube, launched on December 21, 2024 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 (Bandwagon-2), is Croatia’s first satellite led by a young team of engineers and students. Owned and operated by a non-profit organization, this 1U CubeSat marks a step toward the country’s independent space capability. The modular platform enabled rapid subsystem integration and flexible payload deployment. A key innovation lies in its modular Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS), developed atop a flight-proven onboard computer (OBC) and standalone GNSS receiver. Instead of developing the whole solution, the team engineered a compact motherboard that integrates magnetorquers, sensors, and driving circuits—showing both efficiency and adaptability. The same OBC type also controls the satellite’s primary camera, demonstrating the platform’s modularity. A standout example of this adaptability is the late-stage addition of Astrotron1000, an experimental payload developed by Croatian company PulsarLabs. Developed just few months before final assembly, it replaced a previous payload with no need for structural or electrical changes. Astrotron1000 compares light sensors in orbit and implements a novel voting mechanism between three onboard microcontrollers to validate sensor data, showcasing both technical ambition and platform flexibility.

Mission goals included successful launch and deployment, verification of all subsystems, public engagement, and payload operations. All primary goals have been achieved: the satellite is fully operational, beaconing regularly, downlinking telemetry, and performing in-orbit testing of both the modular subsystems and Astrotron1000, the onboard camera is fully functional and has successfully transmitted images from orbit. The mission also succeeded in engaging the wider public and student community, inspiring new interest in STEM and space in Croatia and beyond.

GAINDESAT-1A (" Gestion Automatisée d’Informations et de Données Environnementales par Satellite"). In english it's mean: Automated Management of Environmental Information and Data by Satellite". In local language, GAINDE means “LION”, which is the emblem of Senegal.

GAINDESAT-1A (Gestion Automatisée d’Informations et de Données Environnementales par Satellite) is Senegal’s first satellite mission, developed under the national space program SENSAT and entirely designed, built, and operated by a team of young Senegalese engineers in partnership with the University Space Center of Montpellier. It was launched on August 16, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.

The name “GAINDESAT” derives from “GAINDÉ,” meaning “LION” in Wolof, the national language of Senegal, symbolizing strength, pride, and sovereignty—values at the heart of the country’s space ambitions.

Passing over Senegal twice a day, GAINDESAT-1A continuously collects environmental data, particularly on water resources. The satellite autonomously retrieves recorded data (climatic conditions, water level and quality, among others) from sensors installed across the country. This information enables decision-makers to anticipate and issue alerts in the event of floods, manage water resources, and mitigate the effects of seasonal water shortages, directly contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals related to water and climate resilience (SDG 6, SDG 13, SDG 15).

This technological achievement was recognized by the awarding of the National Order of the Lion to the GAINDESAT team by His Excellency President Bassirou Diomaye FAYE, highlighting the strategic importance of space for our nation. GAINDESAT-1A has also sparked great enthusiasm among youth—especially girls—towards scientific careers, particularly in space. Its inclusion in the 2025 national high school physics exam illustrates its role as both an inspiration and an educational tool.

The LASARsat mission is a unique achievement by the high school team LASAR, which won the global Conrad Challenge in Houston in April 2024 with their concept of repairing non-communicating satellites in orbit using laser technology. 

LASARsat (NORAD: 62391, https://lasar.info/) was launched into orbit on December 21, 2024 onboard the Falcon9 rocket as part of the Bandwagon-2 mission. The mission aims to explore the feasibility of using laser technology for space debris mitigation. This 1U CubeSat carries several onboard systems including corner reflectors to return a laser beam back to Earth—enabling better atmospheric measurements after a double pass. It also includes sensitive photodiodes designed to analyze laser beam properties directly in orbit. Two independent radiation detectors and a Langmuir probe monitor the satellite’s environment during high-energy laser exposure. A parabolic mirror mounted externally aims to concentrate laser energy to ignite a nylon thread at its focal point, thereby attempting to induce physical movement of the satellite. On each side of the satellite, LED clusters support optical tracking and facilitate laser targeting.

The satellite is fully functional, and the team is currently preparing for the first laser interaction experiments in collaboration with the world-class HiLASE laser center from the Czech Republic.

LASARsat is the product of a team of high school students who, just seven months after winning the Conrad Challenge with their satellite repair and debris removal concept, succeeded in sending a working satellite to orbit. The team has since grown from 5 to 30 members, with the broader mission of educating the next generation in satellite technology and space communications. Their story is a powerful demonstration that space innovation is achievable even at a young age.

MESAT1 is the 1st small research satellite (3U CubeSat < 1 kg) built in Maine by UMaine students carrying Amateur radio and high school student payloads to the 530 km polar orbit. The main purpose was to test various low cost cameras in space and secondary goal was to test our own designed and built flight computer and EPS system. The launch on July 4, 2024 from Vandenberg Space Force base in California was successful and to date the spacecraft is still in operation and all amateur radio transponders are working and sending telemetry data.  This spacecraft was selected by AMSAT with OSCAR designation MO-122, one of only 10 US universities to receive this honor from a total of 122 worldwide.  Although the mission was a success from radio and telemetry point of view as well as EPS and flight computer perspective, the low cost cameras (high school payloads) did not perform as well as we thought. Credit goes to Joseph Patton (now at Aurora), Travis Russell (now at Bose), and Steele Muchmore-Allen (now at Idexx), my graduate student team who implemented this project under my supervision at WiSe-Net lab, University of Maine.

NUSHSat1, an Earth imaging satellite, was launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on March 14 at 11:43 PM (PT) aboard the SpaceX Transporter-13 mission. This 1U CubeSat was developed by a group of high school students.

The satellite incorporates a custom On-Board Computer (OBC) responsible for housekeeping and mission operations. The team’s work included schematic design, Printed Circuit Board (PCB) routing and low level C firmware development.

It is powered by a low-power STM32L5 MCU with a host of peripherals, including various MEMS sensors (gyroscopes, magnetometers etc.) and sun/thermocouple inputs. The OBC’s high reliability and low power design with optimised firmware ensures optimal system performance and fault detection/recovery.

A fully custom-developed payload subsystem is responsible for imaging operations, including interfacing with the 4 onboard cameras and compression.

Its STM32H7 MCU provides sufficient processing processing headroom for image compression operations. The team developed an implementation of NASA’s ICER - a wavelet based, error tolerant and progressive image compression algorithm. This allows for partially-received/corrupted images to be decoded, albeit with slight quality degradation. While having been used on the Mars rover missions, no publicly-available implementations exist prior. In addition, a color extension was developed from scratch.

The student team also conducted all required qualification testing procedures, providing for valuable learning opportunities.

The satellite has been demonstrated to function flawlessly in-orbit, reliably executing mission operations and recovering from fault conditions. The team has also been responsible for mission operations: ground station software stack development and communication operations. Numerous imaging missions have been carried out, with many images of Earth successfully received.

Secondarily, the team intends to expand the mission’s impact by enabling schools around the world to directly receive images from the satellite, with custom ground station antenna designed to be easily built and set up by students, inspiring the next generation of space exploration.