The idea of a global ground station network for educational satellite missions was first suggested by ESA Education representatives in mid-2006. A study was performed, which concluded that the project was technically feasible, defined a preliminary set of project requirements and proposed an implementation plan.
The project was approved in October 2006 and the current timeline is as follows: | January - June 2007 | Preliminary Design and Development Phase
| July 2007
| Preliminary Design Review
| | July - November 2007 | Preliminary implementation
| December 2007 - August 2008
| Core Development and Alpha Testing (~5 ground stations) | | September 2008 - March 2009 | Consolidation of requirements and software design | | December 2008 - July 2009 | Advanced Development and Beta Testing (~20 ground stations) | April 2009
| Critical Design Review
| | July - August 2009 | Preparation for Network Deployment | | September 2009 | First public software release | | September 2009 - March 2010 | Enhanced Development and Testing | April 2010
| Second public software release
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