English 
Spanish 
3 min read
11 comments
Measuring just 10 cm and with the power equivalent to a Game Boy, the BEESAT-1 satellite was thought to be lost in 2013. But a German student defied the odds, regained control and brought the tiny nanosatellite back to life, surprising the world of space science.
Have you ever imagined losing something precious and only having the chance to rescue it more than a decade later? Now, imagine that something is a satellite in orbit, rotating at 27.000 km/h around the Earth. That's exactly what a German student managed to do: resurrect BEESAT-1, a small satellite that had been unusable for 12 years. This story is a mix of science, determination and genius.
Satellite failures are common, after all, space is an extremely hostile environment. Radiation, extreme temperatures and collisions are just some of the challenges. In the case of BEESAT-1, a nanosatellite from the Technical University of Berlin, the failure seemed irreversible… until a young hacker decided he deserved a second chance.
The history of BEESAT-1
BEESAT-1, launched in 2009, is a 1U CubeSat. That means it measures just 10 x 10 x 10 cm — about the size of a shoebox! But despite its small size, it was ambitious: equipped with a camera and a reaction wheel, it had the potential for observation missions and technological experiments. Its processing power? The equivalent of a Game Boy.
- Scientists develop metal that regenerates itself in experiment and open doors to a new era in engineering
- Jeff Bezos finally realizes 25-year dream: watch the stunning New Glenn rocket launch live and discover the future of Blue Origin
- Elon Musk's Neuralink implants brain device in third patient, plans revolution with 30 implants by 2025
- Finland sets new RECORD with this 'monster' capable of supplying 30 THOUSAND homes
Two years after launch, problems began to arise. First, a controller began sending erroneous data. A backup controller temporarily fixed the problem, but by 2013, the satellite had stopped operating altogether. It was doomed to orbit silently 723 km above Earth for at least 20 years, failing to fulfill its mission.
An impossible mission?
Trying to recover a satellite in orbit is like trying to fit a puzzle piece into a moving car. With a communication window of just 15 minutes per flyby and the speed at which it travels, the challenge seemed insurmountable.
But a German student, known as PistonMiner, saw this impossible mission as an irresistible challenge. Fascinated by BEESAT-1's high orbit, he decided he needed to bring it back to life, even if that meant rebuilding old codes and creating working simulations.
How the hacker brought the satellite back to life
First, PistonMiner analyzed the few signals the satellite was still emitting. He noticed that the data was corrupted, indicating a configuration failure, likely caused by a reboot during memory write.
Using old code and simulations made with parts from other CubeSats, he was able to create software patches. With this, he reprogrammed the satellite and corrected vital parameters. The result? BEESAT-1 has started transmitting telemetry and even images from its camera again!
This guy is a genius of electronic science, let's use his knowledge for good
My only fear in all of this is the amount of trash we are also throwing into space.
We really are a bunch of ****
Hello, young and intelligent, what a successful adventure. Congratulations. The real problem is the space debris that is staying in orbit.
Congratulations, creativity and persistence in reusing, without consuming fuel, wonderful recycling, use it for good.
Incredible.