Small Sats, Big ambitions: ESA Academy’s CubeSat Summer School concludes

The training course involved 30 students onsite for four weeks, 60 students online during the first two weeks, and 12 business students both online and onsite. For the closure of the Summer School, all 102 students came together in ESEC-Galaxia for a 2-day closing event. 

All in all, 46 trainers collectively provided more than 130 hours of instruction, with the majority being ESA experts whilst four were specialists from industry and academic institutions.  

First week:

During the first week, students focused on the fundamentals of space engineering, with an emphasis on CubeSats. Onsite participants also engaged in lab sessions, working in pairs on an educational CubeSat model called ESAT, developed by Theia Space, a laboratory at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. These sessions allowed students to apply their newly acquired knowledge of subsystems.  

Second week:

In week two, students were tasked with using Concurrent Engineering to design an innovative satellite mission that used Earth's atmosphere as a lens for distant observations. Additional lectures covered a range of topics, including model-based systems engineering, project management, and more, providing the students with a well-rounded education. 

Simultaneously, during the first two weeks, 60 online students attended the same lectures which were live streamed. While the onsite students engaged in hands-on group exercises, the online participants were divided into four teams, each tasked with designing a unique space mission:  

• AgriWatch: monitoring farms in Africa to detect crop health issues and facilitate effective land management; 

• ShipSpotter: monitoring shipping hotspots to aid traffic management, safety, and security; 

• VolcanoSat: providing real-time data on volcanic activity to help detect early signs of eruptions; 

• WildFire: tracking new and existing wildfires in Greece  

Third week:

For the onsite students, the fast pace persisted as they learned about  Assembly, Integration, and Verification processes, as well as launchers and CubeSat deployment. In groups, the students carried out a complete verification campaign, including vibration tests, under the guidance of ESA Academy’s Fly Your Satellite! (FYS!) team.  

Meanwhile, 12 online business students participated in lectures focused on business and entrepreneurship within the space sector. They also collaborated with the onsite students to develop a business concept based on two of the missions created by the online teams: AgriWatch and ShipSpotter.  

Fourth week:

In the final week, students explored topics such as cybersecurity, operations, space debris, and spaceflight law. A cybersecurity primer heightened their awareness of the risks a space mission can encounter. Additionally, the students were invited to tour the ESEC-Redu site, home to the newly established Cyber Security Centre of Excellence (CSCE).  

During the operational module, students learned how to communicate with a satellite, collaboratively wrote mission planning procedures, and uploaded them to ESA’s FlatSAT CubeSat, an engineering model of the late OPS-SAT.  

An ESA commercialisation expert introduced business skills, explaining why students should consider becoming space entrepreneurs and highlighting opportunities available through ESA BICs. The week also included lectures on space debris (current state and mitigation techniques), and spaceflight law, rounding off the intensive four-week training. 

To conclude this week, online and business students rejoined their onsite peers to finalize and present their projects to a supportive jury comprised of four ESA experts: two members from the Commercialization Directorate, one from the Directorate of Operations, and a senior System Engineer from the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality. The jury was impressed with the innovative ideas and provided valuable feedback.  

Visits to industry and test centres

During the month, several visits to professional facilities were organised. The students had the opportunity to visit the  Centre Spatial de Liège, where they were introduced to the centre's history and activities. They also toured the facilities used for testing instruments for major space missions.  

Next came a visit to Technifutur’s Industry 4.0 Demonstrator, where we explored applications of robotics, machine learning, augmented reality, and other cutting-edge technologies. 

There were then opportunities to visit SES Luxembourg, and OHB LuxSpace, to learn about corporate and academic perspectives in the space sector. 

Closing Event

The final day gathered all 102 participating students, as well as ESA staff and guests. It began with an introduction from the Head of ESEC and the Director of Space Research and Applications of the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and a congratulatory message from ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen.  

Following that, several panel discussions took place in the Euro Space Centre auditorium. One panel featured representatives from the FYS! student teams, who shared their experiences and insights from the FYS! Programme. Three additional panels included industry experts from companies such as D-Orbit, Aerospacelab, Alba Orbital, OCCAM Space, ISISPACE, GomSpace, TechWorks Marine, Science [&] Technology BV, Verhaert, Planetek Italia, and OroraTech. These discussions covered topics like the state of the art and current trends, collaboration and opportunities, and future trends and technologies in the Small Sat field. 

During a networking session, the same industries engaged with students, offering insights into space entrepreneurship, business skills and methods for turning space products or ideas into viable business opportunities. 

The afternoon was brimming with emotion as representatives from onsite, online, and business students delivered speeches, leading up to the certification ceremony.  

In their closing remarks, the Head of the ESA Education Office and the organizers encouraged the students to persist in their endeavours within the space sector, marking the conclusion of this intensive month-long training. 

Following the ceremony, students, companies, experts, and organizers gathered for a farewell dinner, where they shared experiences and memories, with hopes of reuniting soon—perhaps even in space.