Separation successful. ATHENE-1 is in orbit!
After six years of research, development, integration and testing, 15 experiments have begun their journey. ATHENE-1 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard Transporter-18, and we watched live as the satellite successfully separated from the rocket.
Congratulations to the entire SeRANIS mission team at Bundeswehr University Munich and to all partners who made this possible. Taking a satellite from concept all the way to orbit is an enormous achievement.
For us at Orbint, this moment is personal. Orbint is a spin-off of the dtec.bw-funded SeRANIS mission, and our team and technology have their roots in this program.
ATHENE-1 is proof that long-term research funding pays off: in flight hardware, in know-how, and in new companies that carry the technology forward. Thank you to dtec.bw, the SeRANIS mission and the Munich Center for Space Communications for enabling this path from research to application.
Next up: first contact and commissioning. We're keeping our fingers crossed!
