Ireland’s first satellite is carried into space on rocket launched in California

Ireland's first satellite, Eirsat-1, has been successfully launched into orbit.

The spacecraft took flight at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket on Friday.

Eirsat-1 was designed, built and tested by researchers at University College Dublin under the guidance of the European Space Agency (ESA).

Professor Lorraine Hanlon, director of Eirsat-1 and the UCD Centre for Space Research, said the launch represented the culmination of a lot of work by a young team.

"The next step now is to get used to operating our new spacecraft and get the maximum research and training out of it," she said.

Dr Ronan Wall, manager of the UCD Centre for Space Research, said it was "incredibly exciting" to watch their hard work blast off into space.

"[Ireland has] finally joined other nations across Europe and the world that are positioned to do great research and innovation from our own spacecraft. We look forward to continuing to train and develop space expertise to support research and industry in Ireland," he said.

Recognising the project as an official Irish space mission in 2022, the Government said its successful launch marked a "a major milestone" for the growing space industry in Ireland.

Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise Neale Richmond offered his congratulations to the UCD academic and student team involved in the mission.

“History was made here today, and everyone should be proud of the part they played in this milestone for Ireland and its space sector,” he said.