SSETI Express (satellite)
| Names | Express-OSCAR-53 (XO-53) Student Space Exploration & Technology Initiative Express |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Technology demonstration |
| Operator | European Space Agency |
| COSPAR ID | 2005-043E |
| SATCAT no. | 28894 |
| Mission duration | 2 months (planned) 12.5 hours (achieved) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | European Space Agency |
| Launch mass | 62 kg (137 lb) |
| Payload mass | 24 kg (53 lb) |
| Dimensions | 56 × 56 × 90 cm (22 × 22 × 35 in) |
| Power | 20 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 27 October 2005, 06:52:26 UTC |
| Rocket | Kosmos-3M |
| Launch site | Plesetsk, Site 132/1 |
| Contractor | Yuzhnoye / NPO Polyot |
| Entered service | 27 October 2005 |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 27 October 2005 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 682 km (424 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 708 km (440 mi) |
| Inclination | 98.18° |
| Period | 98.67 minutes |
SSETI Express was the first spacecraft to be designed and built by European students and was launched by the European Space Agency. SSETI Express (Student Space Exploration & Technology Initiative) is a small spacecraft, similar in size and shape to a washing machine. On board the student-built spacecraft were three CubeSat picosatellites, extremely small satellites weighing around one kg each. These were deployed one hour and forty minutes after launch. Twenty-one university groups, working from locations spread across Europe and with very different cultural backgrounds, worked together via the internet to jointly create the satellite. The expected lifetime of the mission was planned to be 2 months. SSETI Express encountered an unusually fast mission development: less than 18 months from kick-off in January 2004 to flight-readiness.