Bradford students win global satellite competition
Students from the University of Bradford have been named among the global winners of a prestigious international satellite engineering competition, beating teams from around the world and becoming the only UK team ever selected in the challenge’s history.
The multidisciplinary student team was chosen as one of five global winners of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) Student Grand Challenge, which invites university teams to design and build cutting‑edge satellite payloads to tackle real‑world problems using space technology.
Professor Savas Konur, Director of the Bradford‑Renduchintala Centre for Space AI and Head of School of Computing and Engineering, said: “We are proud to support student‑led innovation that addresses real‑world challenges. This project shows how our students are able to combine advanced engineering, computing and AI to deliver work with genuine scientific and societal impact.”
As part of their win, the Bradford team will receive $10,000 in seed funding to develop a flight‑ready satellite payload, along with a further $2,000 to support their presentation at the 2027 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), one of the world’s leading Earth observation conferences.
Turning space science into real‑world impact
The student project, titled BRADFORD‑RFI‑1, focuses on a growing challenge facing Earth‑observation satellites: radio‑frequency interference (RFI). This interference, caused by human‑made signals on Earth, can distort or corrupt data collected by satellites that monitor the planet.
In practical terms, this kind of interference can undermine the accuracy of satellite measurements used to track climate change, sea ice, soil moisture, ocean temperatures and extreme weather patterns, all of which inform policy decisions, environmental protection and long‑term planning.
The Bradford students are designing a compact PocketQube satellite that will detect and analyse interference in a protected part of the radio spectrum (between 1.401 and 1.426 GHz), which is used by major international Earth‑observation missions. By identifying where and how interference occurs, the data can help safeguard the quality of future satellite measurements.
Engineering excellence, student‑led
Based in the School of Computing and Engineering, the 12‑strong student team brings together expertise in satellite engineering, computing, mechanical engineering, management, law and international business, supported by academic and industry advisers.
Student team leader Zahid Hasan Shovon said: “We are incredibly excited to be representing the UK and the University of Bradford on this global platform. This recognition reflects the dedication of our entire team, and our ambition is to deliver a fully flight‑grade satellite payload within the project timeline.”
The project will move through a full professional development cycle, including design reviews, engineering and flight model development, testing and, ultimately, launch and in‑orbit operation. The long‑term aim is to apply AI and machine‑learning techniques to the satellite data, reinforcing Bradford’s growing reputation in space‑enabled artificial intelligence.
Assistant Professor Vuong Mai, Academic Adviser, said: “Earth‑observation satellites underpin decisions about climate, weather and environmental safety. Interference threatens the accuracy of that data, and this project shows how our students are applying their expertise to protect information the world relies on.”
Professor Raed Abd‑Alhameed, Chief Academic Adviser, said: “Detecting interference from a compact satellite is a demanding RF engineering challenge. This recognition reflects the technical strength of the students’ work, and the focus now is rigorous engineering to deliver a credible, flight‑grade payload.”