A team of Michigan college students has won a competition to have the U.S. Department of Defense launch their custom-built satellite into orbit, officials said.

Michigan Technological University students took first place in the University Nanosat 6 competition sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory, which handpicked 11 university teams from dozens of applicants for the competition, WWJ-TV, Detroit, reported Monday.

Each team was awarded a two-year contract to design and build a small satellite to perform a mission of the team's choosing, followed by a flight competition review in January at which the MTU team was selected as the winner.

"This is a major accomplishment by our students," William Predebon, chair of the MTU Department of Mechanical Engineering, said.

Michigan Tech's satellite, Oculus-ASR, will serve as an orbiting eye to assist scientists on the ground with satellite attitude and shape recognition.

"The DOD wants to know what's orbiting the Earth, who owns it, what it's doing, and what it might do in the future," team adviser professor L. Brad King said.

"In general, our role will be to calibrate their telescopes," by releasing targets which both Oculus and air force scientists on the ground can photograph, King said.

"It's a very capable little vehicle. There's a lot packed into it."