photo by: Firefly Aerospace/Trevor Mahlmann

The night sky over California's Vandenberg Space Force Base shows the signs of Firefly Aerospace rocket launch on July 3, 2024. A satellite built by KU engineering students was part of the payload of the launch.

A tiny piece of KU is now orbiting the Earth.

A satellite designed and built by aerospace engineering students at the University of Kansas was successfully launched into space on July 3, the university announced.

The satellite — about the size of a loaf of bread — will help researchers measure cosmic rays and high frequency signals. But a large part of the satellite’s purpose is to prove that KU’s engineering school has the know-how to design and build “nanosatellites” like KUbeSat-1, which is the name of the Jayhawk-produced satellite.

“The primary goal of KUbeSat-1 has been to allow students at KU to work on an engineering project that has the same stakes as projects in the aerospace industry,” said Brody Gatza, graduate research assistant and project manager. “The project has encompassed all facets of engineering and has given our team experience working with NASA, leading aerospace companies and regulating agencies.”

About 70 KU students were directly involved in the project, which also was supported by the school’s alumni. The satellite was launched through a NASA program that allows educational institutions to piggyback onto NASA launches in order to get their satellites into space. KU became the first institution in Kansas to launch a satellite through the program.

KU’s satellite was sent into space via a rocket operated by NASA contractor Firefly Aerospace, and that launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base near Santa Barbara, California.

KU has been planning the project since 2018, and it comes after an unsuccessful launch in 2006.

The satellite is expected to orbit the earth for one to two years. Rick Hale, professor and chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, said via a press release that he expects the successful launch to create more opportunities for KU engineering students to be involved in design-build-test operations of nanosatellites.

Hale said KU should have good opportunities to build other satellites that focus on remote sensing operations. KU already has an internationally recognized program related to remote sensing. Its Center for Remote Sensing and Integrated Systems is a leader in monitoring the thickness of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. That type of sensing work, however, is largely done via aircraft and other Earth-based devices. Having the option of placing satellites into orbit to do remote sensing is exciting, Hale said.

“A successful orbital mission will open the door to sustained design-build-test-operate activities in orbital remote sensing that mimic our sustained success in suborbital remote sensing,” he said.