Yakutia's Cholbon Satellite Launches, Marking a Historic Space Milestone for Young Scientists

Yakutia's first satellite, Cholbon, has successfully reached orbit after launching aboard a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Vostochny Cosmodrome on 28 December. The project marks a historic milestone as the region's first fully in-house space development. Behind it stands a team of young scientists, including students from the Little Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha and the Sirius Educational Center.

The satellite's journey began years ago, with Artyom Mardin and Andrey Petrov guiding the project from its early stages to launch. Mardin, still a school student, earned the Knowledge Conquers badge for his contributions. The team designed Cholbon to carry the YAKS EDU/16 payload, featuring 12 Arduino-compatible microcontrollers and a range of sensors.

*Cholbon* also supports an amateur radio programme, transmitting data and images on 437.350 MHz. Students across Yakutia can now upload their own experiments to the satellite, testing software in real space conditions. The launch coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Yakutsk Complex Expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences, adding symbolic weight to the achievement. As of March 2026, however, no public records show that local schools or institutions have direct access to ground stations for controlling or communicating with *Cholbon*.

The satellite's deployment opens new opportunities for Yakutia's students to engage in space research. While its radio signals are accessible, the lack of confirmed ground station access means direct control remains limited. The project nevertheless stands as a testament to the region's growing capabilities in space technology.