The project, known as BLUEsat, is seen as a way of giving science and engineering students practical experience to complement their studies. Twenty students at the University of New South Wales in Sydney are currently involved in the project.

BLUEsat, or Basic Low Earth Orbit University of New South Wales Experiment satellite, has been jump started by a $10,000 grant from the University. The team is actively searching for more sponsorship to assist them in the project.

The students are hoping to model their satellite on the proven AMSAT design. The satellite will be a 25 centimetre cube weighing between 10 and 25 kilograms. Five sides of the cube will be covered by solar panels.

The principal experiment carried on BLUEsat will be a store-and-forward packet communications system that will transmit on amateur radio frequencies. BLUEsat spokeswoman Sarah Eccles said that two additional experiments are expected to be carried on the satellite. "These may be from academic staff (at the University of New South Wales). We have already had some interest there." Experiments under consideration include a CCD camera and a deployable boom.

Australia�s only previous amateur satellite was the Australis-Oscar 5 amateur radio satellite, built by a team of space enthusiasts at Melbourne University in 1996 . The satellite was launched as an auxiliary payload by NASA with the TIROS-M weather satellite in 1970.

Eccles claims that the BLUEsat team will also seek a launch as an auxiliary payload. One vehicle under consideration is the currently unflown K-1 reuseable launch system, which will operate from a launch site at Woomera in Australia.

Despite funding shortages and uncertainties over the final design, Eccles claims that the BLUEsat team is aiming for a launch by mid-2000.