Text and photo: Nelly Sander, AAU Communication and Public Affairs

It was 2003. At AAU, a group of students and lecturers were gathered at the ground station, waiting for the first sign of life from the satellite they themselves had developed and built. When the satellite passed over the horizon and came within range of the antennas on the roof, the moment they had been waiting for finally arrived: 

“Suddenly, there was a beep. Then we knew it was alive and that we could start using our own satellite. That was fantastic,” says Morten Bisgaard, CTO and co-founder of the satellite company GomSpace. 

The first beep from AAU’s student satellite was more than a technical breakthrough. It was the first proof that a group of students in Aalborg could help challenge assumptions about who could build and use satellites. A few years later, their experience became the foundation for GomSpace. 

Small satellites tackle big challenges 

Today, GomSpace employs around 275 people and serves customers worldwide. The company develops and manufactures both components and complete satellites that can be launched directly into orbit. 

The satellites can, among other things, monitor changes in rainforests, provide connectivity in areas without reliable infrastructure and test new ideas in space. Their applications range from tracking cattle in South America to advanced missions to the Moon and asteroids. 

“When we started, spaceflight was still largely driven by the major space agencies. We had to travel around the world convincing people that small satellites could actually be used for serious purposes,” says Morten Bisgaard. 

It began with a note on a noticeboard 

According to Morten Bisgaard, it was no coincidence that Aalborg became the starting point. When he and Lars Krogh Alminde returned after the summer holidays to begin their fifth semester at the Department of Electronic Systems, they spotted a note on a noticeboard: anyone interested in building satellites should turn up in a particular room at a particular time. 

Around 50 students came along. Two AAU lecturers told them about CubeSats, a new class of small satellites they had heard about in the United States. 

“In true AAU fashion, that was pretty much it. We students then had to work out the rest for ourselves. In the end, a smaller core team completed the satellite. Three of us travelled to Canada to deliver it so that it could be integrated with a launch system, while two others went to Russia to make sure it was safely installed on the rocket,” says Morten Bisgaard. 

It marked the beginning of more than one space project. Two members of the core team, together with a student involved in the next student satellite, AAUSAT II, recognised the commercial potential of CubeSats. The small satellites could be built at a fraction of what satellites had previously cost, bringing spaceflight within reach of more companies, universities and organisations. In 2007, the idea became GomSpace. 

Deep roots at AAU 

The relationship with AAU remains close. GomSpace collaborates with the university on research projects and recruits recent graduates. And when Morten Bisgaard explains where the company began, he returns to that first meeting: 

“Aalborg University created this, 100 per cent. Some lecturers stood on a soapbox and said: ‘We’re going to build satellites.’ That was the day GomSpace was born.”