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Aravir 1
A1 Target launch ~2033

A picture
from space,
made by kids.

Aravir 1 is a small satellite that a few homeschool families are learning to build, launch, and fly, one project at a time.

Follow the journey The mission
2026 · first signals~2033 · launch
2026 · first signals to ~2033 · launch: ~7 years
Target launch
~2033
Program length
7years
Families
3–7
Primary goal
1picture from space
01The mission

Learn it. Build it. Fly it.

A few homeschool families are spending about seven years learning how to build, launch, and fly a small satellite. The kids are the crew. They start by listening to satellites already in orbit, then build and fly their own experiments on the ground and under balloons, and finish by building the real spacecraft.

The goal is simple to say and hard to do: get a picture from space, taken by a camera we built and sent home over a radio we can talk to. Numbers prove a satellite works. A picture makes it real.

02What success looks like
  1. SC-1

    Hear it

    Reach orbit and pick up the spacecraft's own transmissions.

  2. SC-2

    See through it

    Receive and rebuild a recognizable picture from its onboard camera, ideally Earth, clouds, ocean, or the horizon.

  3. SC-3

    Talk to it

    Send a command and get proof that it ran.

  4. SC-4

    Tell the story

    Operate over many passes and publish a mission report written by the students.

03The road to launch

Small wins, then orbit

Every early project ends with something that works. The real spacecraft gets the last two to three years.

  1. PH-1Listen· Year 1

    • M-01
      Receive an existing satellite
      In progress
      0%
      Year 1 · Several sessions to a few months
    • M-02
      Send a picture across a field
      Not started
      0%
      Year 1 · 1–3 months

  2. PH-2Build on the ground· Years 1–3

    • M-03
      Classroom satellite
      Not started
      0%
      Years 1–2 · 3–6 months
    • M-04
      First balloon flight
      Not started
      0%
      Years 2–3 · 3–9 months

  3. PH-3Fly our own projects· Years 2–4

    • M-05
      Student missions and redesigns
      Not started
      0%
      Years 2–4 · A semester or school year each

  4. PH-4Prototype· Years 4–5

    • M-06
      Ground prototype
      Not started
      0%
      Years 4–5 · 6–12 months

  5. PH-5Flight· Years 5–8

    • M-07
      Flight hardware
      Not started
      0%
      Years 5–7 · 12–24 months
    • M-08
      Launch and first contact
      Not started
      0%
      Years 6–7 · 18–30 months, overlaps the build
    • M-09
      Picture from space
      Not started
      0%
      Year 8 · Several weeks or more after launch
  6. Decision gates
    • Mentor on board · Year 4
    • Choose the spacecraft · Year 4
    • Launch window · Year 7
Why “Aravir”A1-NAME

Named for the morning star

In C.S. Lewis’s Narnia, Aravir is the morning star: the first light before the sun comes up. It felt right for a first satellite built by kids who are just getting started.

Follow the journey

A few homeschool families spending seven years learning to build, launch, and fly a small satellite that sends home a picture from space.