University of Stuttgart – KSat / IRS

KSat e.V. is a non-profit association at the University of Stuttgart, founded in 2014, with approximately 250 members, primarily students. The organization designs and develops various space-related projects, including high-altitude research balloon systems (BUBBLE, PARSEC), small satellite experiments (SOURCE CubeSat), and experiments for high-altitude research rockets (MIRKA2-RX, ROACH, FerrAS, FINIX). They also develop experiments for the International Space Station (PAPELL, FARGO) and sensor technologies (MICU). KSat e.V. provides bus systems for internal or external payloads for their high-altitude balloon program and organizes and carries out launches. They allocate payload space to sponsors for partial self-financing of projects. The organization is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Notable programs include the MIRKA2 series, PAPELL, SOURCE, FARGO, FerrAS, FINIX, BUBBLE, PARSEC, and ATHENE. They have participated in programs by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), ESA's "Fly Your Satellite!", and NASA's "Honey, I Shrunk the NASA Payload" challenge. Flight heritage includes experiments launched on REXUS rockets from Esrange Space Center, to the ISS via Falcon 9, and high-altitude research balloons.