'A thrilling result' - Ireland's first ever satellite successfully launches into space

Ireland's first ever satellite has been successfully launched into space. 

The miniature cube satellite EIRSAT-1 took flight at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a Flacon 9 SpaceX rocket yesterday evening (Friday December 1). 

It was designed, built and tested by students at University College Dublin (UCD) under the guidance of the European Space Agency (ESA). 

According to UCD, the satellite was deployed around 8pm IST and was confirmed to be in low Earth orbit. 

Director of EIRSAT-1 and the UCD Centre for Space Research (UCD C-Space), Professor Lorraine Hanlon, said, "This represents the culmination of a lot of work by a young team and a huge amount of support by the Irish space industry, the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, Enterprise Ireland, SFI and the IRC to deliver a thrilling result of Ireland in space. 

"The next step now is to get used to operating our new spacecraft and get the maximum research and training out of it." 

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/iXndCsnEFL

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 1, 2023

UCD C-Space Manager, Dr Ronan Wall, described the atmosphere post-launch as celebratory. 

He said, "It’s incredibly exciting and deeply satisfying to have finally joined other nations across Europe and the world that are positioned to do great research and innovation from our own spacecraft. We look forward to continuing to train and develop space expertise to support research and industry in Ireland. Go EIRSAT-1!" 

UCD President, Professor Orla Feely, said the project had delivered outstanding research and developed talent throughout its six-year development. 

She said, "What a satisfying moment this must be for the Irish team: a remarkable first for the scientific community in Ireland. 

"By joining the scientific expertise here at University College Dublin together with the ESA’s expertise in the building and testing of satellites and space systems, Ireland’s first satellite EIRSAT-1 has now successfully launched into space and reached its orbit around the earth.

"From their initial proposals to the ESA six years ago, to the cleanroom and Mission Control located on the UCD campus where students will operate EIRSAT-1 while in orbit, and of course the engineering and building of the satellite itself, the UCD team has taken a significant step for space education, research and capacity building in Ireland." 

We only brought the small flag. The rocket (with @EIRSAT1 on board) will launch up over the hill in the background. pic.twitter.com/SuZIl3ShJJ

— David McKeown (@dj_mckeown) December 1, 2023

According to UCD, work on the project reportedly provided training for students in all major aspects of satellite development, and introduced space systems engineering and skills at UCD not previously seen across any Irish industry or academia. 

ESA Director General, Josef Aschbacher, congratulated the EIRSAT-1 team for their successful launch and what he called "the start of Ireland’s first exciting adventure in orbit". 

He said, "I’d also like to thank UCD for joining forces with ESA towards a common educational objective: boosting the skills of the young generation.

"It’s only by building capacity that we can make our space ambitions become a reality, for Ireland and for Europe. With our Education programme we are nurturing generations of citizens who are learning to use space technology and space solutions in order to make a difference for our society, our planet and our future." 

EIRSAT-1 will now carry out three experiments and report data back to its command centre at UCD, including studying gamma-ray bursts (the most luminous events in the universe) with a miniature detector built into its frame. 

Its other payload includes a novel attitude control system designed by the Dynamics and Control Group in the UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering that will ensure it is always pointed in the correct direction, as well as equipment to perform a thermal coating study to assess the performance of surface treatments for satellites developed in Ireland.

A poem called 'All Ways Home' written by 12 Irish school children is engraved on the outer cover of the antenna module in a formation like a spiral galaxy. 

Header photo: Space X