The Aggies and Longhorns have put their rivalry aside for space exploration.

At 7:34 Thursday morning, two miniature satellites from Texas A&M University and University of Texas were launched as part of the DRAGONSAT from space shuttle Endeavour.

The project will test automated rendezvous and docking capabilities using two small satellites.

The students sent a message to the crew of Endeavour on Thursday before the launch. They referenced how NASA successfully brought together nations around the world to construct the International Space Station. Students also commented about how daunting it was to get the rival schools together in peace to develop the two satellites.

Each school named the satellites. Texas A&M called their satellite AggieSat-2 and the University of Texas named their satellite BEVO-1.

The AggieSat program is under A&M's Department of Aerospace Engineering. It was established in 2005.

Three other missions will be launched in the coming years.

To learn much more about the program, visit the AggieSat website linked below this story.