Student teams exchange valuable lessons learned from design to operations
In brief
The second cycle of Fly Your Satellite! is coming to an end. On September 19th and 20th 2024, representatives of the 3Cat-4, EIRSAT-1 and ISTSat-1 CubeSat teams gathered at ESTEC to participate in a Lessons Learned Workshop. In this event, the teams had the chance to discuss in person what they learned throughout the programme, sharing valuable insights and reflections to help refine and enhance future missions.
In-depth
The 3Cat-4, EIRSAT-1, and ISTSat-1 CubeSat teams are part of the second cycle of the Fly Your Satellite! (FYS) programme, an educational initiative for tertiary student teams developing nanosatellites with mainly educational purposes. Following years of work, these teams finally launched their very own CubeSats to space with the support of ESA: EIRSAT-1 reached orbit on December 1st 2023 , and a few months later, 3Cat-4 and ISTSAT-1 were launched on July 9th 2024 as part of Ariane 6 inaugural flight mission.
Throughout the years, the students had to face difficult challenges to develop their CubeSats and were supported by ESA experts in navigating the design and verification of their own missions. Gathering some of the knowledge acquired throughout the different programme phases was the objective of the Lessons Learned Workshop, held in ESTEC on the 19th and the 20th of September 2024, marking the closure of the second edition of the FYS programme.
As a final step, these teams will present their mission results and lessons learned to the other teams in later cycles of the programme as well as ESA experts, completing the transfer of knowledge encouraged by the programme.
- 3Cat-4 is a 1U CubeSat developed by students working in the UPC NanoSat Lab, an initiative from Spain’s Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya with Earth Observation (EO) capabilities.
- EIRSAT-1 is Ireland’s first satellite, developed by the students at University College Dublin and hosting three experiments, including a gamma ray burst detector.
- ISTSat-1 is the first-ever CubeSat built by a university student team in Portugal. Developed by the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, it aims to demonstrate an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) aircraft detection technology.
“It was an incredibly useful exercise which gave us an opportunity to think reflectively about virtually every aspect of our mission. It also gave the team as a whole a great appreciation of not only the hard work that we put in ourselves, but the hard work and achievements of other teams, and provided a space to bring together a lot of knowledge that was developed throughout the programme.” -EIRSAT-1 team member
The workshop provided student teams with the opportunity to discuss what they had learned with each other and with the FYS team, the ESA team that supported them throughout the years. The lessons spanned from the more technical ones like the radiofrequency's disturbances in big cities or the difficulties of developing subsystems in-house, to the programmatic ones, such as the management of the teams and students throughout the year. This allowed them to reflect on their own experiences as well as those of other teams, and to exchange their views on the different lessons learned.
“Cross-team collaboration revealed common challenges in student-led space projects, highlighting the need for standardized processes. By sharing our experiences, we've created a valuable knowledge base that will streamline future student satellite projects and reduce redundant errors.” -3Cat-4 team member
The review and discussion of the different lessons learned gathered throughout the programme are crucial for enhancing the educational return coming from it. The participation of the various teams in the same discussion ensures the spread of the knowledge gathered, allowing them to learn from the others’ experiences. Furthermore, the workshop not only plays a vital role in educational missions but also serves as a powerful tool for the ESA supported ones. In fact, the lessons gathered will be presented and made available to the ESA experts for future use in the different Agency’s missions.
Finally, the students’ opinions and perspectives also served as powerful insights for potential improvements in the programme, which is currently at the beginning of its fourth cycle, with parallel initiatives ongoing like Design Booster and Test Opportunities.
If you are interested in learning more about opportunities like Fly Your Satellite! you can check out the ESA Academy current opportunities website to find out more.