Weighing just 868 grams and measuring 5×5×15 centimetres, the small satellite is equipped with deployable solar panel wings, and carried a number of instruments suitable for conducting scientific experiments in orbit. On board were four experimental panels developed by the Széchenyi István University team in Győr, as well as six panels from the winning teams of last year's Cansat Hungary secondary school competition.

During the week following the launch, the functionality of each module was tested in turn – starting with the pocket qube elements made by BME, then the Cansat transmitters, then the panels from the University of Győr – to determine whether contact could be established at all with the small satellite. It has since been confirmed that all of Hunity’s modules are functioning. However, detecting its signals is no easy task.

“Imagine trying to use the beam of a pocket flashlight to find a 5×5×15-centimetre brick, while it is hurtling through space at a distance of 400-500 kilometres from Earth,” said Péter Vári, NMHH Deputy Director General. Tracking Hunity's signals is a serious technical achievement, because while the satellite passes over Hungary at a speed of 27,000 km/h, the Earth itself is also “rotating away” out from underneath it. The low-orbiting “mini satellite” passes over Hungary four times a day – twice in the morning and twice in the evening. “Based on the Kepler data, we track the satellite’s orbit with the help of software, and when we see it approaching Europe, we prepare for reception, waiting for the satellite to rise over the horizon,” added Péter Vári.

Once the satellite is detected, the team at mission control needs to decide what commands to give it. They have a maximum window of 8–12 minutes available, which must be used to check the technical parameters (battery power, thermal conditions of the device in space, and battery charging information) and to issue commands on which modules to activate and when. All small satellites like Hunity also have a ground-based replica, which can be used to model any issues encountered in space: software failures can be fixed from the ground this way, but naturally, hardware failures cannot. This is why it is so important to subject the space-bound unit to rigorous testing before launch.

In-orbit testing of the device is already underway this year, and Hunity should be operational by the end of the year. The first measurement results and data are expected in the first half of next year. The fact that the modules from the Cansat-winning student teams could be included on the satellite is significant, as it gave these students a chance to put their skills into practice in outer space. For Hungarian secondary school students, this is a scientific opportunity that very few in Hungary have ever been offered. The students have acquired a reference that could help propel them toward further scientific achievements.

With the professional support of the NMHH, the SMOG-1 satellite also completed its earlier mission. Its task was to map the electro-smog emitted from the Earth into space: a subject on which no reliable data was previously available to anyone in the world. The measurements from the SMOG-1 satellite have provided NMHH with valuable data that can now be used to assess how much energy is being “wasted” by the various radio systems and mobile networks.

Watch the video of the Hunity small satellite in action here: