YPSat Programme

What is the YPSat Programme?

The Young Professional Satellite (YPSat) is a framework within ESA, made for early-career professionals who want to challenge themselves and contribute beyond their regular duties. 

It gives them the opportunity to take part in all phases of a real satellite project, from idea to design, integration, testing, and flight, all while working in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment. 

The programme is run voluntarily by motivated young professionals across ESA sites and departments, supported by experts in the space field, and coordinated with help from the Agency. This partnership provides access to facilities, technical guidance, and the infrastructure needed to take each mission from paper to space. 

YPSat is more than a technical project: it is a learning experience, a networking opportunity, and a platform for young professionals to grow as individuals and as a team. 

From an idea to a programme

The YPSat journey began with a challenge in 2021: a group of early-career professionals set out to build a payload for the inaugural flight of Ariane 6. With limited resources but a strong sense of purpose, they created YPSat-1, a working mission that not only reached the launchpad but also demonstrated that young professionals could manage and deliver a space project themselves. 

That success became the foundation for a new initiative. 

YPSat-2 took the ambition further: a larger, more complex mission with a scientific experiment onboard. The team expanded, new processes were implemented such as lessons learned from the first mission, which were applied and refined. With YPSat-2, the project matured into a programme, one with structure, continuity, and growing support across the ESA Education Office. 

Why YPSat matters

Participating in YPSat gives young professionals the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of a mission lifecycle: planning, designing, integrating, testing, and delivering payloads that will fly to space. The experience goes beyond technical learning: it develops leadership, decision-making, collaboration, and project ownership. 

By bringing together people from different ESA sites, departments, and cultural backgrounds, YPSat builds community and encourages collaboration across boundaries. It strengthens ESA’s “One ESA” vision by creating opportunities for unity in practice: connecting teams, sharing expertise, and fostering a common purpose across the Agency. Experts share their knowledge with early-career professionals, while past YPSat members mentor new ones, ensuring both continuity and long-term impact. 

The programme also offers value to ESA itself: it acts as a testbed for new tools and workflows, fosters closer ties with academia and industry, and strengthens ESA’s engagement with the next generation of space professionals. 

In short, here’s why YPSat matters: 

• Hands-on learning: Practical experience in every phase of space mission development 
• Innovation platform: A place for ESA to try new processes and technologies 
• Youth empowerment: Proof that young professionals can lead successful space missions 

Carrying the spirit forward

Thanks to the efforts behind YPSat-1 and YPSat-2, the programme now stands on a solid foundation, with documentation, a growing network of contributors, and institutional support from the ESA Education Office. The goal is clear: to establish a long-term programme where each new generation of Young Professionals at ESA can take part in designing, building, and launching a YPSat. Supported by ESA Education, and with opportunities to fly on different platforms and reach various destinations, everything is now in place for future teams to step in, shape new missions, and carry the legacy forward.  

YPSat remains open to all early-career professionals at ESA who are looking to try something new, gain hands-on experience, or simply be part of something collaborative and impactful.  

The spirit of YPSat is simple: take initiative, work together, and learn by doing. With each new mission, the programme evolves, sharing knowledge, welcoming new people, and growing stronger as a community. 

If you’re a young professional at ESA, the next chapter could be yours to write.