Date Time University of Alberta satellite team pulls off space rescue mission in nick of time A pressure-packed recovery mission in the harshness of space featuring the ingenuity of the University of Alberta’s satellite team and a race against time played out high above Edmonton on Jan. 19, sending notice that the future of Canada’s designs on exploration of space is in good hands. The saga began in November as DESCENT, a satellite mission designed and made at York University, was set to launch from the International Space Station. The mission consists of two cube satellites, or CubeSats—each smaller than a loaf of bread—that, when deployed, are connected by a 100-metre long tether. The main purpose of the mission is to study how to mitigate space junk in orbit.