News and Events
- SBFE research fellow Xiaohui Lin receives the MSCA DOROTHY COFUND award
- Upskill with UCD’s engineering micro-credentials
- Minister O’Donovan announces funding boost for early career researchers
- Recent Lab visit by UCD Engineering & Architecture to Sheffield University Diamond Centre
- UCD Stormwater Runoff Research featured in Nicola Haines Team
- Madeleine Lowery among UCD Researchers recognised in SFI Frontiers for the Future Awards
- UCD’s LaNua Medical Wins Big Ideas Award at Enterprise Ireland’s Start-Up Day 2024
- Robotics Competition
- Congratulations to All the Winners of this years NovaUCD Awards
- Irish National Doctoral Research Cohort on Floating Offshore Wind Dynamic Cables is formed
- UCD and Northeastern University extend and deepen long-standing partnership with five collaborative research projects
- EPA announces €14.3M in new research funding
- Arup Scholarship Awards 2024
- UCD names new Vice-President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Project promoting safe staffing in the healthcare system wins UCD Research Impact Competition
- VOICE Project Launches to Shape Tomorrow's Sustainability
- Archives
- 2023 News Archive
- 2022 News Archive
- 2021 News Archive
- 2020 News Archive
- 2019 News Archive
- 2018 News Archive
- Irish researchers win first prize in global 3D printing competition
- Professor Da-Wen Sun Conferred with Certificate of Foreign Member of Polish Academy of Sciences
- Professor David FitzPatrick named as President of Ireland’s first Technological University
- Inspiring wind energy and wilderness projects win 2018 Sustainability and Energy LaunchPad Awards
- UCD Professor made fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA)
- Maxim Donates Unique Robotic Learning Factory to University College Dublin
- UCD named partner in major new EU manufacturing consortium
- Irish architects awarded UCD’s highest honour
- BDIC chosen as higher education partnership of the year
- Environmental Policy academics launch report on the Failure of Water Charges in Ireland
- Professor Da-Wen Sun Named Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate in the 4th Consecutive Year
- O'Donnell and Tuomey are shortlisted for this year's RIBA international prize
- Science Foundation Ireland 2018 Science Awards recognise key leaders in the Irish Research Community
- 2018 UCD Alumni Award Winner in Engineering & Architecture
- Intel awards bursaries and employee mentors to 16 UCD graduate students
- The ESB Inter-Colleges Challenge
- Children encouraged to delve into STEM as Science Apprentice series returns
- Dr Nicky Bertollo wins the 2018 UCD Allergan Innovation award for novel medical device design
- Inclusion Panel at the Grace Hopper Conference in Houston
- Shire Announces UCD Scholarship for Masters in Biopharmaceutical Engineering
- Minister launches €22 million SFI research centre focused on advanced manufacturing
- Countdown to lift-off for UCD scientists making Ireland’s first satellite
- Biochemical Engineering alumnus set to chair new HSE oversight Board
- Arklow through the eyes of strangers
- Optics in Ireland, August 2018
- UCD Engineers Tech start-up CALT Dynamics selected for TechStars US accelerator
- A UK charity has created a way to play Minecraft using just your eyes
- Professor Da-Wen Sun Elected Academician of International Academy of Refrigeration
- Jane Rendell, Despina Stratigakos & Ruth Morrow in conversation
- UCD Master of Architecture achieves Substantial Equivalency from the NAAB
- Finalists shortlisted for UCD Future Campus architectural design competition
- €1.4 million in SFI funding awarded to UCD academics
- University College Dublin Wins 2018 Knowledge Transfer Ireland Impact Award
- Professor Da-Wen Sun Presented with iAABE Founding President Gavel and iAABE Fellow Certificate
- Tom Brazil 1952-2018
- Engineering Mobility Design competition
- Collaboration between Prof Federico Milano and artist Julie Merriman
- Professor Da-Wen Sun Conferred with Honorary Doctorate Degree from Peru
- UCD professor joins ranks of US National Academy of Engineering
- Intel bursaries and employee mentors for UCD graduate students
- Top Irish jockeys back UCD engineers use of race footage to crack future helmet design
- 2017 News Archive
- 2016 News Archive
- Building the State
- A Centenary Celebration
Countdown to lift-off for UCD scientists making Ireland’s first satellite
Tuesday, 25 September, 2018
Maeve Doyle, PhD student, UCD School of physics research and development with Joe Thompson, PhD student, UCD school of mechanical and materials engineering
- EIRSAT-1 will be the first ever satellite designed and developed by an Irish team.
- A team of 16 UCD scientists are working on the prototype.
- The nanosatellite will launch in 2020 and will carry three different scientific experiments on board.
Ireland's first ever satellite is one step closer to taking flight after University College Dublin scientists completed work on a prototype for the European Space Agency.
(opens in a new window)EIRSAT-1, a miniature satellite, has already passed the first phase of testing and now the team are working on finalising their design for launch.
Subject to further mission milestones, the satellite will be delivered to the ESA in mid-2020 with three scientific experiments on board.
The team at UCD includes 16 students from the schools of physics, mathematics and statistics, as well as various engineering disciplines.
With a budget of €1.5m, the project is being funded by the Irish Research Council, Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Science Foundation Ireland and the ESA.
Research and Development Minister John Halligan said that the project was showcased Ireland’s increasing science and technology capabilities.
“EIRSAT-1 provides the UCD student team with a great opportunity to develop skills in satellite development, a first in Irish space science education."
He added: “The development of these skills will have an impact beyond those directly participating in the project, including in the expanding space industry sector in Ireland.”
Congratulations to all members of the (opens in a new window)@EIRSAT1 team, including 7 scholars funded by (opens in a new window)@IrishResearch and former awardees (opens in a new window)@SheilaMcBreen and (opens in a new window)@dj_mckeown, who will build Ireland’s first satellite! What an exciting achievement! (opens in a new window)@ucddublin (opens in a new window)#LoveIrishResearch: (opens in a new window)https://t.co/bMouCaYQtj (opens in a new window)pic.twitter.com/bqN0SoHcn3
— IrishResearchCouncil (@IrishResearch) (opens in a new window)September 24, 2018
The UCD project was chosen to be part of the second cycle of (opens in a new window)ESA’ Fly Your Satellite programme in May 2017.
The development programme aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers with the chance to build CubeSats – nanosatellites that can fit in your hand but are fully operational – and send them into space.
Joe Thompson, a PhD student at the UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, said it was a dream come true to work on EIRSAT-1.
"Especially with amazing people from so many different disciplines, and to help make history with them by building and launching Ireland's first satellite.”
We’re delighted to have welcomed Minister John Halligan TD (opens in a new window)@EnterInnov to (opens in a new window)@ucdscience today to mark the success of the first stage of the EIRSAT-1 mission - the Critical Design Review. Now we move onto building and testing Ireland’s first satellite! Thanks to all our supporters! (opens in a new window)pic.twitter.com/caj78E3OAV
— EIRSAT-1 (@EIRSAT1) (opens in a new window)September 24, 2018
The main experiment on-board EIRSAT-1 will be a gamma-ray detector, which will detect gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic explosions in the universe.
The second experiment is an in-flight demonstration of thermal control coatings developed by Irish company ENBIO, a graduate of NovaUCD.
The third experiment, called wave-based control, tests an UCD-developed algorithm to control the movement of the satellite.
A model of the EIRSAT-1 nanosatellite being worked on by a UCD team
EIRSAT-1 Project Leader (opens in a new window)Professor Lorraine Hanlon, from the UCD School of Physics, said satellites like EIRSAT-1 were disrupting the traditional space sector globally, providing a fast and cost effective route to gaining spaceflight heritage.
Professor Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact added: “A key objective of the EIRSAT-1 mission is through its success to inspire the next generation of students to study STEM subjects.”
“The skills base and the research and development agenda are closely aligned, and both need continuing investment by Government to ensure that Ireland can maximise its return from global opportunities in the space sector.”
After launching, EIRSAT-1 is anticipated to remain in orbit for up to 12-months, during which time it will communicate data to Earth through a ground radio station located at mission control in the UCD School of Physics.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations