Estonia's student satellite burns up after four years in orbit

Estonia's student satellite burns up after four years in orbit. Photo: Eero Vabamägi/Postimees

Tallinn University of Technology's (TalTech) second student satellite, Hämarik (Twilight), has concluded its journey by burning up when entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Having orbited for nearly four years, Hämarik holds the record as Estonia's longest continuously operating satellite.

«The satellite has now completed its celestial journey, the last few estimated flyovers yielded no signal,» said Ivo Müürsepp, senior lecturer at TalTech and the supervisor of the development of Hämarik's communication system. Based on the latest data, Hämarik's altitude had dropped to 250 kilometers.

Hämarik is the second satellite from TalTech to end its mission. Earlier this year, on April 1, the same fate befell TalTech's first student satellite, Koit (Dawn). Such an end awaits all satellites in low Earth orbit.

The satellite, built jointly by TalTech students and AS Datel, reached orbit in the early morning of Sept. 3, 2020. It was first contacted on Nov. 15 of the same year, and since then communication with the satellite has taken place several times a day, in thousands of sessions in total, according to Müürsepp.

The students who participated in the satellite project have since founded several space technology startups: PL Space OÜ, Cubehub OÜ and Falconers OÜ.

In total, several dozen theses were written about Hämarik, both in bachelor's and master's programs. Müürsepp also highlighted the space observation ground station on the roof of TalTech's Mektory building as an outstanding benefit from the project.

Currently, students of TalTech are working with the Estonian Student Satellite Foundation and other Estonian universities on a new student satellite project, SUTS, a satellite for testing strategic innovations. The technical goal of the project, carried out in cooperation with students and private companies, is to develop and build a picosatellite that will test new technologies in orbit. The launch of SUTS is scheduled for 2027-2028. In addition to new satellites, the TalTech Space Center engages in the commercialization of the ground station and provision of support for space-themed study programs.