One year ago, Portugal launched its first university satellite into space, aboard the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket, with the mission of testing its ability to detect aircraft in remote areas. 

The commemorative event took place this July 9 at the Central Atrium of Técnico – Oeiras Campus, gathering institutional partners, space sector specialists, and members of the academic community to celebrate this milestone and reflect on the future of Portuguese aerospace engineering. The program included presentations by Rui Rocha, project coordinator and co-founder of NanoSat Lab; Rogério Colaço, president of Técnico; Joana Mendonça, vice-president of Técnico – Oeiras Campus; and Pedro Patacho, Education Councillor of the Municipality of Oeiras.

Floating at 580 km above Earth’s surface, in low orbit, the satellite has gone around our planet a total of 5500 times, 1460 of which passed right above the Técnico – Oeiras campus, its home base. It was not, however, always an easy journey. The team faced an unexpected obstacle, as the reception of signals from orbit turned out to be challenging due to inherent problems related to the connection between the radio and transmission antennas. To solve this, the team of around 50 Técnico students, teachers and researchers had to resort to building giant antennas until additional ground stations were established. With the help of radio amateurs, these efforts proved successful.

The project received financial support of INESC-ID, Instituto Superior Técnico,  the Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), at the Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica (IDMEC). It also involved the participation of members of the Instituto de Sistemas e Robótica (ISR-Lisboa), as well as the support of several companies linked to the sector.

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