Currently, WatSat is gearing up for the second offering of the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge, which will last from September 2014 to September 2016. The purpose of the competition is to design a 10 × 10 × 30 cm cubesat weighing less than 4kg to perform a science mission in low-earth orbit for one year. WatSat's mission is a GPS Reflectrometry payload, which will be used to survey the altitude and thickness of arctic sea ice. We are also running a secondary mission which involves a propulsion system that uses ion thrusters in order to deorbit our satellite at the end of our mission, preventing the satellite from becoming space debris.
The Canadian Satellite Design Challenge is a unique opportunity for students to work on genuinely space-worthy hardware. The prize of the competition is a free launch.