LASARsat (Laser-Assisted Satellite Reentry satellite) is a Czech scientific microsatellite, which was launched on 21 December 2024. The LASARsat mission is a continuation of the Czech high school team LASAR,[1] which won the Conrad Challenge, a global STEM competition held in Houston.[2][3] The satellite is designed to test the possibilities of using high-power lasers for traffic management in orbit and to help to solve the problem of space debris.[4][5][6] LASARsat is 1U specification CubeSat, with dimensions of 10×10×11.3 cm and total volume of 1000 cubic centimeters. The satellite was launched into a Low Earth orbit by SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 on the Bandwagon-2 mission.[7][8][9][10]
Payload
The satellite has control, energy and communication equipment on board, the latter being designed for amateur radio contact.[11] LASARsat is also carrying a small capsule with non-alcoholic Czech beer.[12]
Seven scientific instruments are on board LASARsat:[11]
- Photodiodes for measuring the laser’s energy losses in Earth’s atmosphere
- Series of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for improving tracking accuracy
- Retroreflectors for reflecting the laser beam back to Earth’s surface to allow its further study
- Langmuir probe for measuring changes in ionization upon laser’s impact
- Earthcam, a camera for capturing the Earth’s surface, on which the effects of the laser beam on optical sensors are tested
- Two dosimeters, one supplied by Czech Aerospace Research Centre and the other one by SkyFox Labs
References
- ^ Hubálková, Pavla. “Čeští středoškoláci ohromili experty z NASA” [Czech high schoolers surprise NASA experts]. WIRED CZ (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-08-09.
- ^ “Czech high school students win Conrad Challenge at NASA”. Radio Prague International. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
- ^ “Lasar x Vorkloster – Lasar”. vorkloster-lasar.com. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ^ “Laser-Assisted Satellite Re-entry”. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ^ “LASARsat”. Czech Space Portal. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ^ “Czechia heads to space”. HiLASE. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ^ Lentz, Danny (2024-12-20). “SpaceX launches Bandwagon-2 rideshare from Vandenberg”. NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ “LASARsat”. Gunter’s Space Page. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ^ Kulu, Erik. “LASARSat”. Nanosats Database. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ^ VZLU (2025-01-02). “The LASARsat satellite mission, which VZLU AEROSPACE participated in, was successfully launched into orbit”. VZLU AEROSPACE… národní centrum pro letectví a vesmír. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ^ a b “Čeští středoškoláci vypustí vlastní družici!”. Kosmonautix.cz (in Czech). 2024-09-02. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ “I pivo u svemir – Pivnica.net”. I pivo u svemir – Pivnica.net (in Croatian). Retrieved 2026-05-13.