Ireland's first-ever satellite set for launch into space this month

EIRSAT-1 — or Educational Irish Research Satellite 1 — will be sent into Low Earth Orbit on November 29 with three experiments.

Ireland's first-ever satellite will be launched into space at the end of this month, marking a "milestone" for the country’s space industry.

The EIRSAT-1 satellite was designed, built and tested at University College Dublin (UCD) and will travel to the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California where it will be sent into orbit on November 29.

EIRSAT-1 — or Educational Irish Research Satellite 1 — is part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Academy’s ‘Fly Your Satellite!’ initiative which offers university students the training, space-expert mentoring and hands-on guidance throughout the entire life cycle of a professional satellite project. This includes everything from design to building, tests, launch and operations.

The miniature cube satellite was first selected by the ESA back in 2017, and it has been under development since.

Director of EIRSAT-1 and the UCD Centre for Space Research, Professor Lorraine Hanlon, said: “Ireland has never had a satellite before and we are tremendously excited to reach this delivery milestone which is a tribute to the hard work of the team and the support of the university, the Irish government and Irish industry.” 

As part of the project’s November launch, the satellite will carry three experiments into Low Earth Orbit, where it will report data back to a command centre in UCD.

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Alongside an experiment to detect gamma rays, the satellite's other payload includes a novel attitude control system designed by the Dynamics and Control Group in the UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, as well as in-orbit demonstration of a protective coating technology developed in Ireland by UCD and Enbio Ltd.

Dr Ronan Wall, manager at the Centre for Space Research, described the launch date as a “big moment” for the team.

“This departure of the satellite from Irish shores for the last time on the first step of its journey to orbit is a big moment for the team. EIRSAT-1 has had thousands of hours of work poured into it and we are ready to launch and operate the spacecraft for the benefit of science, training, and education in Ireland,” he added.

In addition to the programmatic and educational support from the ESA Education Office, EIRSAT-1 has received funding from Science Foundation Ireland, Irish Research Council, Enterprise Ireland, UCD, Openet, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.