Portsmouth University students have joined peers from Surrey and Southampton universities to launch student-designed equipment 900km into space aboard a rocket from Oman’s Etlaq Spaceport.
Five Portsmouth University students are part of a multi-university team that has created and built equipment destined for a 900-kilometre space launch. Working alongside students from Southampton and Surrey universities, the group has been preparing to mount their equipment onto a suborbital launch vehicle.
Adwaith Palakal, one of the five Portsmouth representatives, is completing his final year and recently joined a six-person student delegation to deliver the spacecraft and integrate it with the rocket. The team travelled to Oman’s Etlaq Spaceport in the Duqm region, where their payload, called Jovian-O, is due to launch aboard Stellar Kinetics’ KEA-1 launch vehicle as part of the Duqm-2 mission.
Jovian-O comprises a 6U CubeSat – a compact satellite approximately shoebox-sized – utilising a prototype deployment pod. The student payload, DAVE (Dual Aperture for Viewing Earth), represents the Earth observation instrument created by students from all three universities. DAVE features two compact cameras: one designed to capture Earth imagery and video, whilst the other will attempt to detect space debris using a space-facing camera.
Following launch, the deployment pod will release DAVE and record footage, proving its viability for future orbital missions. During this test, DAVE will stay connected to the deployment pod and rocket whilst gathering visual data, which will be transmitted to Earth through a mobile ground station operated by the student team using AMSAT-UK communications technology.
Louise Butt, University of Portsmouth-based Director of the Space South Central Enterprise Network, commented: “This marks the inaugural mission launching under the Joint Universities Programme for In-orbit Training, Education and Research, JUPITER, which Space South Central backs. This collaborative programme provides students with hands-on, practical space industry experience and training, boosting their career opportunities and helping bridge skills shortages in the space sector across Surrey and Hampshire – and further afield.”
Dr Becky Canning, Deputy Director for Space at Portsmouth University, stated: “The JUPITER programme, now achieving its first launch, offers our students a tremendously exciting chance to construct and launch their own satellite, gaining insight into the design, construction, testing and launch procedures within the space sector, tackling crucial space skills shortages in the UK and, hopefully, enjoying themselves immensely.”
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Reflecting on his JUPITER experience, Adwaith commented: “Participating in this mission has provided an extraordinary learning opportunity. Working closely with Surrey and Southampton university students has been extremely valuable, and witnessing our payload being prepared for launch at Etlaq Spaceport made the reality of space missions tangible. Studying theory in lectures is one thing, but engaging in a live project that will actually travel 900km above Earth is genuinely inspiring. I’m honoured to represent Portsmouth University and contribute to this international initiative advancing student-led space exploration.”
In total, 22 students from the three universities have participated in JUPITER. Ieuan Carney from Surrey University has led the student team throughout.
Ieuan remarked: “We appreciate our universities for this remarkable experience and wish to thank Surrey, Portsmouth and Southampton universities. Developing practical, industry-ready space engineering skills whilst still at university provides us with a direct route to space sector careers and the foundation needed to distinguish ourselves in the employment market. Visiting Etlaq and collaborating with their staff and the Stellar Kinetics team before launch represents a unique opportunity providing practical, real-world space sector experience. We’re now mission-ready.”
