UCD students and staff to launch Ireland’s first satellite

The first satellite to be fully developed and built in Ireland is being developed by a group of students from University College Dublin’s (UCD’s) Schools of Physics and Mechanical and Materials Engineering, with the support of staff from both schools. The satellite is expected to be delivered to the European Space Agency (ESA) in early 2021.

Ireland’s first satellite to be fully developed, researched and built in the country is known as Educational Irish Research Satellite (EIRSAT-1), and it is funded by a combination of the ESA, the Irish Research Council, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, as well as support from UCD. The project started in 2016, when UCD put together a proposal to the ESA for their ‘Fly your Satellite!’ campaign.

Rugby returns to UCD as Leinster to begin training again

Leinster rugby will begin training at their High-Performance Centre (HPC) on University College Dublin’s (UCD’s) Bellfield campus on Monday, after players had undergone testing earlier this week. As part of the return to play protocols set out by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the HPC at UCD has been outfitted with the required infrastructure to facilitate a safe return to training, for restricted training sessions.

Leinster and Munster will begin training again at their respective HPCs on Monday 22 June, with Connacht and Ulster returning to training a week later on Monday 29 June. The National Men’s and Women’s Sevens squads are due back in training from Monday 6 July.