A girls’ school in south London is set to become the first all-female school globally to launch a satellite into orbit. Croydon High School, an independent institution, has designed and built a functional satellite with plans to send it into low-Earth orbit within the next few years.
The initiative, called Mission Pegasus, aims to inspire more girls to engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, where female participation remains low.
In 2023, students from the school’s Stargazers Club successfully launched and retrieved two experimental high-altitude weather balloons that reached near-space altitudes.
One member, 14-year-old Kaweng, said the satellite will measure different atmospheric wavelengths to analyze chemical compositions and air quality, contributing to climate science research.
Head of physics Arabi Karteepan, working alongside the University of Bath, leads the project. Karteepan highlighted the gender imbalance in STEM, especially space science, and emphasized the importance of showing girls that ambitious goals, like building and launching satellites, are achievable.
Fifteen-year-old student Anaiya expressed that representation matters. She believes that seeing girls actively involved in satellite building, coding, and collaborating with scientists encourages other girls to pursue STEM careers, such as her own ambition in astrophysics.