Conquering Near Space

The joint educational project of KazNU Technopark and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been successful - participants in the UniSat educational program have conquered outer space by launching the nanosatellite developed by them into the upper atmosphere.

In the framework of the joint educational program, 20 girls aged 14 to 35 from different regions of Kazakhstan have undergone the training for eight months in courses on nanosatellite development based on KazNU Technopark.

The girls went through all stages of nanosatellite development and creation, starting with project planning, 3D modelling of the hull and various subsystems, on-board computer programming, satellite assembly and testing, and ending with the launch of the nanosatellite into the upper atmosphere.

This is a kind of unique project initiated by UNICEF to develop science and innovation among girls, and it has shown that girls have coped well with the challenges they faced.

«Today, KazNU has established a scientific school for the development of small spacecraft under the guidance of Rector Galym Mutanov. There is a department of space equipment and technology, which provides a basis for training strong personnel for Kazakhstani space industry. The UniSat project was a serious challenge for us. Firstly, it involves only girls, and secondly, in a short time it was necessary to create a working model of a real UniSat nanosatellite, ready to be launched into the stratosphere», said Amirkhan Temirbayev, the project coordinator and director of the Technopark of KazNU.

Nanosatellites are an excellent tool for space exploration and development. The advantages of nanosatellites also include their small size, short development time, relatively low financial costs for creation and, most importantly, the involvement of a wide range of students at all stages of spacecraft development. Thanks to these advantages, nanosatellites have become very popular among universities as an educational tool, as evidenced by the exponential growth in the number of launches each year.

According to Amirkhan Temirbaev, Director of the Technopark of KazNU, the study of nanosatellites is a true STEM education, including science (exploration of space or the upper atmosphere), and the most advanced miniature space technologies of the CubeSat standard, and engineering (modelling and hull development) and mathematics (complex algorithms and programs).

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