About Waratah S
Waratah Seed is Australia’s first ride-share mission, flying an Australian-built 6U CubeSat which successfully deployed into Sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO) from the SpaceX Transporter-11 launch to a 513 km altitude circular Sun-synchronous orbit on the 17th of August 2024.
Funded by the NSW government through their Space Industry Development program, Waratah Seed’s mission is to deliver space flight qualification opportunities to NSW startup and industry-led teams, who get to test and prove the function and capability of their novel technologies aboard a 6U CubeSat platform flying to LEO.
About Patrick Oppel
Patrick Oppel is a prominent Satellite Systems Engineer and Operator based in Sydney, who has become a key figure in Australia’s rapidly evolving space sector. With a background in Electrophysics and Electrical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Patrick bridges the gap between complex orbital mechanics and the practical needs of the commercial space industry.
His technical versatility is evidenced by his involvement in several concurrent high-profile projects:
- Waratah Seed-1 & CUAVA-2 – Patrick was instrumental in the successful launch and commissioning of these satellites on the SpaceX Transporter-11 mission. His expertise ensured that even when the CUAVA-2 satellite faced radiation-induced hardware challenges, the mission remained resilient through redundant systems.
- Patrick’s contributions were vital to the Waratah Seed team winning the prestigious AIAA SmallSat Mission of the Year in 2025—often referred to as the “Space Oscars”—beating out finalists from NASA and the ESA.
- He currently lends his expertise to the TOLIMAN Space Telescope and Deneb Space, while having previously contributed to lunar exploration technology with Mawson Rovers.
Patrick’s background prior to becoming a satellite engineer
How Patrick has applied the engineering process
The following videos cover the engineering design process that Patrick used during the Waratah Seed mission.
This closely follows the iSTEM process that AVA Challenge students follow in the missions!
