KOSTKA
| Operator | Brno University of Technology |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 2026-156AJ |
| SATCAT no. | 98395 |
| Website | cubesat |
| Mission duration | 2 years (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | 1U CubeSat |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 7 July 2026, 7:12 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Transporter-17 |
KOSTKA (Czech for 'cube') is an educational and amateur radio satellite developed by the YSpace team from Brno University of Technology and launched in July 2026.[1][2] The 1U CubeSat is the first Czech satellite designed and built entirely by students.[3][4] KOSTKA serves as a precursor to YSpace's more ambitious mission CIMER designed to perform microbiological experiments in orbit.[3][5]
Objectives
[edit]The satellite is designed to test an innovative CubeSat antenna design, with which the team has won the ESA BIC Liftoff Challenge in 2025.[6][7] Its mission is to measure UHF radio interference, transmit a radio beacon, serve as a digital repeater for radio amateurs, and transmit telemetry to various ground stations.[8] Its designers also proposed to use the satellite to communicate with an automated meteorological station in Antarctica.[1]
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History
[edit]Work on the project started in 2023.[9] In March 2026, the satellite has successfully passed its final tests.[10][11] It was launched on 7 July 2026 on the Transporter-17 rideshare flight of Falcon 9[12][13][14][15] as the 17th Czech satellite.[16][2][17][18] It was deployed at 8:04 UTC.[12] One hour after deployment, the satellite's antenna successfully extended. Later during the day, the ground station on the roof of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication (FEEC) of Brno University of Technology received the first data from the satellite.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Mission Kostka". vut.cz. Brno University of Technology. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- 1 2 "Transporter 17 | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Next Spaceflight". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
- 1 2 "First Czech satellite designed and built entirely by students is heading into space". vut.cz. Brno University of Technology. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ "Studenti z Brna sami navrhli a sestrojili družici, která v létě poletí do vesmíru". Brněnská Drbna (in Czech). 2026-04-02. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ "Kosmické Brno: YSpace / CIMER a KOSTKA". Kosmonautix.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ "Soutěž ESA BIC Liftoff Challenge ovládl studentský tým YSpace z VUT". vedavyzkum.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ "Brněnští studenti vymysleli revoluční uchycení antén vesmírných minisatelitů". Novinky.cz (in Czech). 2025-12-18. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- 1 2 Koubová, Zdeňka (2026-09-04). "New-KOSTKA Satellite Successfully Launched into Earth's Orbit". Fakulta elektrotechniky a komunikačních technologií, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Archived from the original on 2026-07-08. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
- ↑ "Družice studentů z Brna zamíří do vesmíru v polovině letošního roku". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). 2026-04-04. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ "First Czech satellite designed and built entirely by students is heading into space". vut.cz. Brno University of Technology. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- ↑ "New-BUT students are heading to space: the KOSTKA satellite will launch in…". Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of Technology. 2026-04-14. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- 1 2 "SatNOGS DB - KOSTKA". db.satnogs.org. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
- ↑ Vichá, Barbora (2026-06-22). "KOSTKA míří do vesmíru. První česká družice postavená studenty se představí veřejnosti". Česká cesta do vesmíru (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ "SpaceX - Transporter17". SpaceX. Retrieved 2026-07-05.
- ↑ "ŽIVĚ A ČESKY: Studentský český CubeSat míří na oběžnou dráhu! – Kosmonautix.cz" (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ "První studentská družice z Česka čeká v raketě na start". iDNES.cz. 2026-07-02. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ Tuesday, Mike Wall The Transporter-17 rideshare mission lifted off at 3:12 a m ET on (2026-07-06). "SpaceX launches 81 satellites to orbit from California, lands rocket on ship at sea". Space. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Česká studentská družice je na oběžné dráze. Sestavil ji tým z Vysokého učení technického v Brně". iROZHLAS (in Czech). 2026-07-07. Retrieved 2026-07-07.