MARMOTSat takes flight: University of Victoria CubeSat launched into space
University of Victoria's MARMOTSat satellite during integration at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). (Credit: CSA)
The University of Victoria's MARMOTSat has successfully launched into orbit, marking an important milestone for one of the projects funded through the Canadian Space Agency's CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM (CUBICS).
MARMOTSat was launched aboard SpaceX's Transporter-17 rideshare mission and deployed into a special orbit for consistent Earth observations, where it will soon begin its scientific mission. The CubeSat, made up of three cube-shaped units, was designed and built by a team of 57 students and researchers between the University of Victoria's Centre for Aerospace Research and the UVic Satellite Design engineering team.
Using an innovative approach to atmospheric radio measurements, the mission will study the ionosphere to better understand how its composition and structure are influenced by human activities associated with climate change.
MARMOTSat is one of nine CubeSat projects supported through the CUBICS initiative, which provides hands-on experience in space science and technology to the next generation of Canadian space professionals. Through this initiative, post-secondary students are involved in every stage of the project, from designing and testing the CubeSat to preparing for mission operations. Now that MARMOTSat has launched, the team will begin operating the satellite and collecting data from orbit, building on years of work by students, researchers and industry partners.