Two of our team members recently participated in the CubeSat Concurrent Engineering Workshop 2025, hosted by ESA Academy at ESEC-Galaxia in Belgium. This week-long workshop brought together students from across Europe and Canada to develop a CubeSat mission using a Concurrent Engineering approach.
During the workshop, they collaborated with experts and fellow students to design a mission from the ground up, working within an interdisciplinary team. They also gained hands-on experience with ESA’s COMET Concurrent Engineering Tool, which is used to streamline the satellite design process.
The program featured lectures from ESA professionals on key topics such as CubeSat architectures, mission design, and Failure Detection, Isolation & Recovery (FDIR). Additionally, participants visited ESA’s Redu Ground Station and the CubeSat Support Facility, where they learned about the infrastructure that supports real missions.
One of our members worked on the Communication and Data Handling (TT&C) subsystem, focusing on inter-satellite links (ISL), antenna design, and onboard data handling to ensure reliable communication throughout the mission. The other team member was part of the Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS), determining how to control the satellite’s orientation and trajectory, and selecting suitable sensors and actuators to meet mission objectives. Both worked on developing a baseline design and defining subsystem requirements for the mission. The week concluded with presenting the final solution to the rest of the participants and ESA engineers.
This was an exciting opportunity to engage with the latest industry practices, exchange ideas with like-minded students, and learn from experienced ESA engineers. The knowledge and experience gained from this workshop will not only strengthen our future projects but also help us improve how we approach satellite development within our team. A huge thanks to ESA Academy and everyone who made this workshop possible!
