News feed
BME's Hunity small satellite is in orbit
2025. 12. 02.
BME's sixth student satellite carried a number of scientific instruments and experiments into space. With the successful launch, the BME development team currently has the most successful PocketQube class satellite missions in the world.
On 28 November at 7:44 p.m. local time, Hunity has been launched within the confines of the Transporter-15 mission. Hunity is a small satellite built by the Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory of the Department of Broadband Infocommunications and Electromagnetic Theory of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics at BME in cooperation with the Radio Club of BME, within the framework of the main professional partnership with the National Media and Infocommunications Authority.
"It is a source of great pride for the BME community to see the successful launch of the sixth BME small satellite, which was made possible by the collaboration of our faculty and students.
The strength of BME is the integration of knowledge and methods from multiple areas of science towards a common goal,
which we have proven once again with the launch of our latest small satellite" - said Hassan Charaf, rector of BME, acknowledging the achievements of the contributors.
The sixth student satellite of BME was launched by SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Center in California, along with about 100 other satellites. At 8:39 p.m., it was put into a 520 km solar-synchronous orbit and the on-board battery recharging began. After the opening of the on-board antennas and solar panels, it started operating. The first signals were taken at the development team's ground station on 29 November. Once the on-board batteries were fully charged, normal operation started.
| BME has been involved in activities related to space research and space technology for decades. The University, led by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, in cooperation with the Faculty of Civil Engineering, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering and the Faculty of Natural Sciences, has also launched a unique master training programme in aerospace engineering in 2022. Tibor Kapu and Gyula Cserényi graduated as engineers at BME, and the institution was involved in their training as research astronauts. |
One of the new features of the 5x5x15 cm satellite, which weighs 868 grams, is that it has openable solar panels to provide more energy. The other is that experimental panels made by secondary school students have been installed on a unit that can also be opened.
Hunity also carried a payload of scientific instruments and experiments, along with a high-resolution on-board camera and magnetic and motorised position stabilisation systems. It will also be used to test several types of solar panels in space.
Continuing the inter-university cooperation started with the MRC100, the development team of the Széchenyi István University of Győr has 4 experimental panels on board. In addition, 6 experimental panels developed by teams of secondary school students from the finalist teams of last year's Cansat Hungary competition have been added to the openable side.
World record
The satellite communicates on the amateur radio band, with the primary ground control station located on the roof of Building E at BME, with a secondary station in Érd. With the successful launch, the BME development team currently has the most successful PocketQube class satellite missions in the world.
More information about Hunity and the experiments on board, including live telemetry data and the possibility to receive signals, is also available on the satellite's website.
Rector's Office, Communications Directorate