Students Prepare to Launch Homemade Satellite

A microsatellite built largely from donated parts in university workshops across Europe is just over one week from launch.

It is the first in a trio of student-built spacecraft that will ultimately reach for the Moon.

It took only 18 months for more than 400 students – spread across 23 universities and 12 countries – to design and build the SSETI Express spacecraft. Set to launch from Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Sept. 30, the project is part an education effort by the European Space Agency (ESA) to boost student interest in space technology and offer some hands-on experience.