Balloon launch for students' prototype satellite

The successful test launch - and recovery - is said to pave the way towards a longer-term plan to put a small satellite, built almost entirely by undergraduate students in the School of Engineering, into low-earth orbit at around 2,000km.

The eight students have been working for the past year on the Warwick University Satellite (WUSAT) Project, which has been building a 10cm wide CubeSat capable of carrying equipment including cameras and sensors.

The test launch took place at an approved site in Welshpool, where a high-altitude weather balloon lifted the satellite to an altitude of approximately 30km before it made a parachute descent to the ground.

For its test launch, the CubeSat carried three cameras, a radio communications link and a GPS tracker to aid recovery. It  was designed to withstand temperatures down to -60C and transmit data and images up to a range of 30 miles.

In a statement Dr William Crofts, director of the Warwick Satellite Programme, said, ‘The WUSAT project is quite a unique set-up which aims to emulate real-world engineering teams.