From the Stratosphere to the Stars: KBSU Schoolchildren and Scientists Launch a CubeSat for Cosmonautics Day

On April 12, Cosmonautics Day, Russia honors not only Yuri Gagarin’s legendary flight but also the triumph of the human spirit—a scientific breakthrough, courage, and a dream that took flight. This spirit of discovery lives on at Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after Kh. M. Berbekov: here, the space tradition is embodied in real-world projects, where fundamental research goes hand in hand with the training of future aerospace specialists.

The joint laboratory of Kabardino-Balkarian State University and the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, «Astrophysics and Cosmic Ray Physics,» conducts systematic career guidance work on aerospace topics. In the year of the 65th anniversary of the first human spaceflight, scientists and young researchers have united for a unique experiment: the successful launch of a stratospheric CubeSat 3U satellite. The event was dedicated to the topic «From the Stratosphere to the Depths of Lake Baikal: Modern Methods in the Study of Cosmic Rays.»

Daniel Boliev and Yakub Akkizov, 10th and 11th-grade students from the «Sunny City» Children’s Creativity Academy, played a key role in the project. Under the scientific supervision of Martin Masaev, PhD, Associate Professor, and Lead Engineer at the Institute of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (IMNES) of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University, and Albert Gangapshev, PhD, Deputy Head of the Baksan Neutrino Observatory at the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the students not only studied the theory but also independently developed and implemented a method for recording muon flux variations using a small satellite.

The satellite was launched into the stratosphere to an altitude of 24 km—the zone where the active generation and propagation of secondary cosmic rays (SCRs) begins. A scintillation detector-based setup integrated into the 3U CubeSat design enabled real-time telemetry transmission and recording of the altitude distribution of the muon component.

For example, at an altitude of 14,346 m (pressure 74.37 mmHg), the peak count rate reached 1270 counts/min, significantly exceeding the reference value (~270 counts/min).

At an altitude of 13,718 m (pressure 96.23 mmHg), a significant intensity variation with an amplitude of up to 820 counts/min was recorded.

The detected fluctuations are directly related to solar activity: each recorded variation corresponds to solar flares, the frequency of which follows an 11-year cycle. The scientific community is currently recording the peak of the 25th cycle (beginning in December 2019 and ending around 2030).

The data obtained will form the scientific basis for the next stage of the project: modifying the CubeSat 3U platform for a full-fledged orbital launch. In the future, the device will be used to monitor space weather and study variations in solar activity beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.

As Anna Veresnikova, PhD in Physics and Mathematics, Scientific Secretary of the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INR RAS), and Senior Researcher at the Joint Laboratory for Astrophysics and Cosmic Ray Physics, noted, such events are a crucial element of career guidance.

«Direct dialogue between schoolchildren and scientists from leading research institutes, the opportunity not only to hear about cutting-edge research but also to immediately try their hand at real-world projects—this is the most effective way to educate the next generation of researchers, the successors to the traditions of our country as the first space power.» «Universities act as a key platform here, connecting talented young people with the world of big science,» emphasized Anna Veresnikova.
On Cosmonautics Day, the joint project between KBSU, INR RAS, and Solar City clearly demonstrates that the traditions of Russian cosmonautics continue not only in orbit but also in laboratories, where schoolchildren and scientists take their first steps toward new discoveries together.