The Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Professor Elvira Fortunato, visited Taguspark on March 11, to learn about the project of the first Portuguese satellite mainly designed and built in Portugal, the ISTsat-1.

The Minister was received by the President of IST, Professor Rogério Colaço and Professor Adelino Galvão from the Board of Directors of IST Taguspark, representing Professor Joana Mendonça.

The visit began in the clean room, where the ISTsat-1 is located. Then it was followed by a visit to the IST NanosatLab and the satellite tracking room, CS5CEP.

The launch of ISTsat-1 should take place on the  Ariane 6 rocket, which will transport it to space on its maiden flight. This flight, according to forecasts by the European Space Agency, ESA, will take place between the end of June and the beginning of July 2024.

The ISTsat-1 project was funded by the ESA, starting in 2017, and was designed to be launched from the International Space Station.

The reduced size of ISTsat-1, in the shape of a cube with 10 cm on a side (1 unit, 1 U) was a huge engineering challenge, as it would be much easier to build a satellite with larger dimensions and with the same functional capabilities. The cost of launching a satellite largely depends on its dimensions and weight. The team tried to minimize this cost. On the other hand, the smaller dimensions imply a smaller collection of solar energy, the only one available, and this resulted in special design techniques to reduce the satellite's energy consumption without affecting its functionality.

The visit of the Minister of Science ended with an interview conducted by Dr. Joana Lobo Antunes, coordinator of the IST Communication Area. At the end of the visit, she thanked the opportunity to learn about this project and praised the team that was able to design this satellite mainly in Portugal and, in particular, at the IST Taguspark facilities.