Make your own satellite
It is more than a quarter Century since Denmark took its first steps into space age with the first satellite called Ørsted with the purpose of measuring the magnetic fields around the Earth.
The mission was a great success in many ways and paved the way for several research groups working with different astrophysical problems. But it was also the beginning of satellite production in Denmark and that is the theme of the podcast today.
Both Per Lundahl Thomsen and Jens Degett were there in the year, 2000 when the first Danish satellite was launched from The Vandenberg airbase in The USA - or rather they waited at the Launch-site but due to weather and technical problems it took a long time before the satellite went up.
Today many universities and technical schools are producing satellites for different purposes. The price for launching is going down very fast. For about 2000 US$ it should be possible to buy space for a one kilo satellite to go to space. Then comes all the development and communication devices you need to control your satellite.
Chief consultant Per Lundahl Thomsen from Denmarks Technical University explain to Science Journalist Jens Degett what you need to make your own satellite.
DTU SPACE
Institut for Rumforskning og Rumteknologi, The podcast is part of our project Danish Space Research III supported by Otto Mønsteds Foundation and Thomas B. Thriges Foundation.
Release date25 August 2025
Make your own satellite By Science Stories is licensed under a Creative Commons License.