Portugal controls one of the largest maritime zones in Europe.

Patrolling that area with ships and aircraft is expensive and cannot see everything, especially in remote waters far from the coast.

Vast stretches of ocean go unwatched, and illegal activity and environmental incidents slip by unseen.

It’s time
to change.

Introducing

LISAT-01AIS from space

LISAT-01AIS from space

Enhancing maritime awareness
from space.

Portugal controls one of the largest maritime zones in Europe.

The ocean seen from orbit at night

01

The
challenge.

Patrolling that area with ships and aircraft is expensive and cannot see everything, especially in remote waters far from the coast.

Render of a 1U CubeSat in low Earth orbit

02

Our
mission.

LISAT-01 is a student-built 1U CubeSat that receives AIS signals from orbit, holds them on board and forwards them to ground stations in Portugal.

Radar sweep showing tracked vessels

03

The
impact.

Better awareness of who is where, doing what. That supports safety, environmental protection and sovereignty — without the price tag of traditional surveillance programmes.

01 / The spacecraft

Inside
LISAT-01.

A 1U CubeSat built around an AIS mission.

Engineering render of the LISAT-01 spacecraft, showing the internal stack of boards inside its 1U frame with the antennas deployed

Form factor

1U CubeSat

Dimensions

10 × 10 × 10 cm

Payload

AIS receiver

Mission
Maritime domain awareness
Ground segment
3 ground stations in Portugal
Programme
CubeSat Portugal

HW

Hardware

Builds and integrates the AIS receiver chain and the flight hardware.

Department
Form factor
1U CubeSat
Dimensions
10 × 10 × 10 cm
Payload
AIS receiver
Mission
Maritime domain awareness
Ground segment
3 ground stations in Portugal
Programme
CubeSat Portugal

02 / Architecture

Built by
systems.

  • Builds and integrates the AIS receiver chain and the flight hardware.

    Department

03Journey

From an idea to orbit.

  1. The LISAT team together at Instituto Superior Técnico

    2024

    Team formation

    LISAT is founded at Instituto Superior Técnico and enters CubeSat Portugal, the national nanosatellite programme.

  2. LISAT members working through the first project package

    Apr 2025

    Preliminary Project Report

    First complete package: mission architecture, system budgets and the LISAT-01 test plan.

  3. A LISAT test bench during the CubeSat Portugal bootcamp

    2025

    Phases A/B — design

    Subsystem design, simulation and prototyping across all eight departments, supported by partner labs and industry feedback.

  4. LISAT members presenting at the Critical Design Review

    Dec 2025

    Critical Design Review

    More than 500 pages of technical documentation defended before the competition jury, covering mission architecture, subsystems, operations concept and risk strategy.

  5. Current

    Phase B decision

    Awaiting the competition’s decision on progression, while the team continues subsystem development and testing.

  6. To be confirmed

    Assembly, integration & test

    Flight model integration and environmental qualification of the complete satellite.

  7. To be confirmed

    Launch & operations

    Launch, commissioning and routine AIS collection, operated from the LISAT ground segment.

The mission
continues

The CubeSat Portugal stage at the Portuguese Space Agency, before the programme's opening session

CubeSat Portugal

LISAT is competing in CubeSat Portugal, the national nanosatellite programme promoted by the Portuguese Space Agency. Seven teams are competing and the winner gets the opportunity to launch their own satellite. The programme exists to give university students hands-on experience in space engineering and to build a national platform for innovation, collaboration and technical excellence.

Organiser
Portuguese Space Agency
Teams competing
7

Get involved

Help us put student-built technology into orbit.

LISAT-01 is built by students and funded by partners who believe an academic team can fly a real mission. There is room for more of both.

Partner with LISATJoin the team