IRELAND’S FIRST SATELLITE is set to be developed after a team of Irish based researchers got the go-ahead from the European Space Agency.

The Education Irish Research Satellite 1 will be launched from the International Space Station and orbit the Earth for a year – if strict tests and reviews are passed.

The project was selected by the ESA’s Fly Your Satellite! (FYS) programme which aims to “inspire, engage and better prepare university students for a more effective introduction to their future professions in the space sector”.

Students at University College Dublin and Queens University Belfast are building the space craft with the assistance of academics.

The small shoebox sized CubeSat will be designed and tested over the coming months.

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If launched, the space craft will be managed from a ground station at UCD. It aims to test experiment with thermal coatings for spacecraft and gather data on gamma ray bursts.

Five Irish based companies are providing help with the project.