The satellite construction section of the SZESAT Interdisciplinary Special College of the Széchenyi István University has achieved a significant international success by being the first Hungarian university team to qualify for the European Space Agency (ESA) Fly Your Satellite! programme. At a workshop in the Netherlands, the students of the institution presented the current stage of their SZESAT-1 satellite.

ESA Fly Your Satellite! (FYS) is a recurring, practical programme managed by the European Space Agency's Education Office in close cooperation with universities in ESA Member States, with the aim of complementing university education and inspiring and engaging students in the world of space. "We are honoured and proud to be the first Hungarian university team to be selected for the programme. It also proves that young people are doing quality work on the Győr campus. Their activities are unique and forward-looking, and they have all the support they need from our university," said Dr. Gábor Borbély, Head of the Department of Telecommunications at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Informatics and Electrical Engineering, who himself travelled with the team to the ESA Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

The team of the SZESAT Interdisciplinary Special College of Széchenyi István University presented its satellite at the European Space Agency's programme in the Netherlands.

During the four-day workshop, the students, along with other international teams, heard presentations on business planning and presentation techniques. They also had access to ESA's VIP Centre and the ESA EXPO, where they were able to see space-related relics such as a 1:1 scale model of the International Space Station (ISS) Columbus laboratory, try out the Soyuz space capsule simulator and walk through the ISS Zvezda module. They could also see real moon rocks from the Apollo 17 mission, and see the solar panel of the Hubble telescope, which was replaced during servicing and badly damaged in space.

"In the technical part of the programme, we had to present the current status of our SZESAT-1 satellite, as well as our plans. We were able to draw a lot of ideas from the presentations of the other teams, which we will be able to use in the organisation of the team, in addition to developing technical solutions," said Zoltán Nagy, head of the satellite construction section of the SZESAT Interdisciplinary Special College.

The theme will also be introduced in Győr soon, as this year's theme of the traditional World Telecommunications Day in May at Széchenyi University will also be space.