KSat e.V. - A Success Story
About us
KSat e.V., the student small satellite group at the University of Stuttgart, is a non-profit association that has grown to around 250 members since its foundation in spring 2014. In addition to alumni, supporting members, and honorary members, most of our members are students at the University of Stuttgart from various degree programs and semesters. Our goal is to offer them the opportunity to gain practical experience in space projects alongside their studies. This allows them to apply, put into practice, and expand the knowledge they have acquired during their studies, as well as acquire interdisciplinary knowledge and skills.
Above all, we want to inspire others with a fascination for space travel and engineering. At the same time, we create a platform for exchange between students, industry, and research institutions.
In addition to our numerous projects, we regularly organize events to promote exchange between members. These include joint events, lectures, and visits to conferences and trade fairs.
Our History
Founding of KSat
In April 2014, KSat Stuttgart e.V. was founded by nine students as the first and only small satellite group at the University of Stuttgart.
MIRKA2-RX
Successful launch of the first REXUS experiment MIRKA2-RX on a high-altitude research rocket from the Esrange Space Center in Sweden.
MIRKA2-ICV
Conducting the MIRKA2-ICV experiment in South Africa, which tested the communication capabilities of the MIRKA2 capsule during flight.
ROACH
Participation in the REXUS program with the ROACH experiment on the REXUS24 rocket. However, due to a non-nominal flight, the experiments could not be carried out as planned.
PAPELL
Launch of the PAPELL experiment to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Überflieger competition organized by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
Evaluation of PAPELL
Return of the PAPELL experiment to Earth and start of evaluation of the data obtained.
SOURCE
Participation in the selection workshop for the ESA program “Fly Your Satellite!” with the CubeSat project SOURCE.
MICU
We won second place in the first phase of NASA's “Honey, I Shrunk the NASA Payload” challenge with the MICU (Mineral Investigation Camera using Ultra-violet) sensor.
SOURCE - CDR passed!
Completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the SOURCE project, enabling the transition to the integration phase.
FARGO
The FARGO (Ferrofluid Application Research Goes Orbital) project began with a successful application to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) “Überflieger 2” selection workshop.
FerrAS
With the selection workshop successfully completed, development began on KSat's third ferrofluid project, FerrAS (Ferrofluid Application Study). As the successor to PAPELL and a parallel project to FARGO, FerrAS will be sent into zero gravity aboard a REXUS rocket.
BUBBLE
Successful launch of the BUBBLE 2 experiment, a high-altitude balloon project for conducting scientific experiments in the stratosphere. Several high-altitude research balloons were launched as part of the BUBBLE experiments.
FARGO Launch
After intensive development work, FARGO was finally launched on a Falcon 9 rocket (CRS-27) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the International Space Station (ISS). It operated there for about four weeks before returning to Earth.
FINIX
Our project FINIX continues our series of ferrofluid experiments aboard REXUS 33/34. The planned launch took place in March 2025.
FerrAS Launch
After a one-year delay due to COVID-19, the time had finally come: FerrAS was launched aboard REXUS 31 from Esrange in Kiruna, Sweden. With an altitude of 76 km reached and the experiments running successfully, the project was a complete success.
PARSEC
A further development of the BUBBLE series of experiments. PARSEC is intended to demonstrate the controlled landing of stratospheric experiments.
ATHENE
ATHENE (Autonomous Terrain Handling and Environmental Navigation Experiment) is being built as the first rover of our association. The project is primarily designed to promote young talent and allows us to create a platform for future, competition-ready rovers.
FINIX Launch
On March 13th, FINIX launched aboard the REXUS 34 rocket from ESRANGE in Kiruna, Sweden. Unfortunately, the launch did not go as planned and the intended altitude was not reached.
SOURCE Launch
Planned launch of the CubeSat SOURCE into Earth orbit.