The rocket was intended to lift the satellite into an orbit 35, 696 kilometers above the earth, but during its final burn, the upper stage engine shut down four minutes early, and the satellite was released into too low of an orbit.
UoSat 12, an experimental micro-satellite that observes the Earth and demonstrates advanced communication and position finding technologies, was launched last year by a Russian rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan.