A school in south London is poised to become the first-ever all-girls institution globally to launch a satellite into space.

Croydon High School, an independent establishment, has successfully designed and constructed a functional satellite with plans to send it into low-Earth orbit within the next few years.

Their initiative, dubbed Mission Pegasus, aims to motivate young girls to engage with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, where women remain significantly underrepresented.

In 2023, students from the school’s Stargazers Club successfully launched and recovered two experimental high-altitude weather balloons that reached the brink of space.

Kaweng, aged 14, expressed that the group aspires for their satellite to gather data on various atmospheric wavelengths.

In her words to Politics London: “This will allow us to analyze the different chemical makeups present in the atmosphere, which can inform us about air quality and contribute insights to climate science.”

Their initiatives are overseen by Arabi Karteepan, the head of physics at the school, in collaboration with the University of Bath.

She remarked: “There is a pronounced shortage of girls in STEM fields, particularly in space science, resulting in a gender imbalance.

“My passion for space science began at a very early age, and I have always been dedicated to it.”

She aims to enlighten girls and create opportunities for them, demonstrating that what may seem unattainable is indeed achievable. “It’s crucial to provide them with guidance on how to reach their goals.”

Anaiya, 15, shared that her favorite subjects are physics and math, with aspirations to become an astrophysicist.

She noted: “Representation is incredibly important. What we’re doing is a strong representation of girls in STEM, because when girls see others like us engaged in building satellites, coding, and interacting with real-world scientists, it instills a belief that they can achieve the same.”

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