‍

Waratah Seed-1 satellite extends operations

WS-1 satellite - 7 of 9 payloads successfully operating, exceeds 6 months in orbit.

The Waratah Seed-1 mission will extend operations, surpassing expectations after operating for over six months in space.

Seven of the nine payloads on board are now operational, generating data and sending files back to Earth for analysis. Of the remaining two payloads, both are drawing current and one has generated a datafile onboard.

Professor Iver Cairns, Director of CUAVA and Waratah Seed said;

“The Waratah Seed project is now overwhelmingly successful, with 7 of the 9 payloads and the entire satellite bus operational. We have brought 6 space startups, three universities, and multiple companies into space together for the first time, well beyond what we, NSW Government, and our funders hoped for. We look forward to more successes for Waratah Seed and other Australian space projects.”

Congratulations to everyone involved in the Waratah Seed-1 Mission!

‍

Read the full Mission Update or download it at the top of this page.

Demonstrated Space Heritage:

Of the five Waratah Seed Payload Competition winners on board the Waratah Seed-1 (WS-1) satellite, three technologies have now demonstrated their space readiness:

• EurokaPower - a Perovskites in Orbit Readiness Test
• ExtraTerrestrial Power - Innovative solar cells based on terrestrial silicon technologies‍, and
• Dandelions - an experimental meta-material using natural fibres

‍

The WS-1 Mission also carries payloads from our academic and commercial partners. All of these technology payloads are commissioned, operational and sending data files.

• Matilda - a novel spacecraft thermal management system developed by UTS and Mawson Rovers
• Harry3 - a third-generation GPS reflectometry payload developed by the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER) at UNSW
• SPaDeS - a submillimetre particle detection system developed in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, and
• EPM - an ElectroPermanent Magnetorquer designed and built by the University of Sydney and university spin-off space technology start-up, Deneb Space.

‍

The remaining two Waratah Seed Payload Competition winners, now drawing current but not yet fully operational, are:

• Spiral Blue - an innovative space edge computing system, an upgrade from prototypes successfully launched in 2021 and 2022, and
• SperoSpace - subsystems and sensors for a robot arm using unique tactile grips from partner Contactile.

‍

Read the full Mission Update or download it at the top of this page.