ROADS Mission

The University of North Dakota is collaborating with AVS US on the Rendezvous & Operations for Autonomous Docking and Servicing (ROADS) satellite mission, which will establish a dedicated satellite operations training facility at UND, including satellites, ground stations, and a mission control center. This initiative will give students real-world experience in mission operations through a pair of 3U satellites equipped with six degrees of freedom propulsion, three-axis attitude control, and multi-band communication systems.

These advanced capabilities will enable hands-on, dynamic spacecraft operations training, and support the UND Space Operations Group's ongoing research into Doppler tracking methods between satellites and ground stations. In addition, the ROADS mission will pioneer a world-first on-orbit rendezvous and docking demonstration without relying on optical or LIDAR sensors - an innovative approach that could reduce the cost of satellite docking by two to three orders of magnitude. UND ROADS 1 and UND ROADS 2 were successfully launched into Low Earth Orbit aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter 14 Rideshare mission on June 23, 2025.