Elon Musk's rocket launched the smallest Polish satellite. The flyby may be visible in our sky

The HYPE satellite was developed by students of the Krakow university operating as part of the SatLab AGH Scientific Club in cooperation with the AGH Space Technology Center. The device is a satellite of the PocketQube standard with dimensions of 5 x 5 x 5 cm.

On Tuesday after 8 p.m. Polish time, the device was launched as part of the Falcon 9 Transporter-12 mission from the Vandenberg Space Center in California, United States. The satellite flew in cosmos aboard a rocket belonging to Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Jan Rosa, member of the board of the SatLab AGH circle, explained that HYPE will be launched into orbit at an altitude of 525 kilometers, where it will begin its pioneering mission. It will be in the target orbit on Wednesday, and within 5-10 days it will be separated from the rest of the D-Orbit ship and thrown from the capsule into space.

– After moving away from the remaining satellites, the deployment sequence will begin, which will involve releasing the securing mechanism of the antenna and selfie stick. Then we start the procedure of establishing communication and activating subsystems, Rosa described.

The Polish satellite and other devices that have flown into space are to be thrown into orbit a few minutes after 21, and then the second stage of the rocket will deorbit into the ocean (bringing the spacecraft into the dense layers of the atmosphere).

“Exactly between 22:52 and 23:01, the second stage of Falcon 9 will be within sight of observers in Poland, but also (and even better!) Germany, France, the British Isles and the southern part of Norway,” said Karol Wójcicki, author, on social media profile “Head in the stars”.

If weather conditions allow it, from the perspective of our country the event will be visible low above the western horizon.

According to Jan Rosa, designers from AGH have developed a device with numerous technological and educational possibilities. It has a miniature spectrometer enabling observation of the Earth. This will allow for the assessment of light pollution and volcanic ash, as well as the observation of the degradation of forest areas. Detecting gas and dust emissions will enable modeling the impact of volcanic activity on the environment and human health. Observations of forest degradation can help monitor deforestation as well as assess the effectiveness of conservation actions. Data from HYPE can be used as part of research projects and can be used to learn spatial data analysis and spectroscopy methods.

“Thanks to this research, students will gain invaluable experience in designing and implementing space missions,” the creators noted.

As part of the mission, HYPE will also use a miniature camera mounted on a foldable arm. The camera will be directed at the satellite's display, which will display graphics sent from the ground station. This element of the mission aims to promote Polish technological achievements and popularize space science and technologies. The mission is intended to be an inspiration for the young generation, encouraging students to take up challenges in the fields of science and technology and develop passions related to space exploration. A special antenna will be used to monitor the trajectory of the HYPE nanosatellite and maintain constant communication with it in orbit, which was installed on the roof of the AGH Space Technology Center at the end of December.

Krakow students announce that their next project is a larger format satellite – the CubeSat standard, which will be designed to monitor the Earth's surface in many light frequencies and test the experimental laser communication module. This will be the first such module created in Poland.