Software developed at EPFL used to control a flotilla of satellites

This past week, 28 CubeSats were released from the International Space Station (ISS). Eight of them are running EPFL software that was originally developed for SwissCube. Code name: QB50. This refers to the European research program begun in early 2016 with the aim of launching 50 miniature satellites - CubeSats - into orbit around the Earth. Their mission: to observe and measure the thermosphere, which is the layer of the atmosphere from 100 to 600 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Research institutes and universities from 23 countries are involved in the project, and their attention was focused on the skies this past week: on Monday, the ISS began launching the CubeSats that they developed. (Ejection d'un CubeSat.