The SSETI-Express mission: from idea to launch in one and a half year

In January 2004 a group or students met at the European Space Technology and Research Centre (ESTEC) in Holland to discuss the feasibility of building a micro-satellite, dubbed SSETI-Express, from parts derived from other student satellite projects and launch it within one and a half year. The project is an initiative under the ESA Education Department and the Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative (SSETI), an European student organisation. The satellite is currently scheduled for launch on the 30th or June 2005 atop a "Cosmos" launch vehicle from Plesetsk in Russia. This paper provides a description of the organisation behind the project and the mission of the satellite. Further it provides a technical overview of both the space segment and the ground segment together with key lessons learnt from the process of building a student satellite with widely distributed teams.