A Novel Approach to Space Systems Engineering Education through the Construction of High Altitude Balloons
Session
Session 5: Education 1
Abstract
UC CubeCats is a student organization from the University of Cincinnati dedicated to the education of its members through the development of CubeSats. For every university CubeSat program, there are certain challenges that exist. One of the largest challenges for university CubeSat programs is new member recruitment and retention. New members are often intimidated by the knowledge and experience of more senior members because they have no experience in space systems engineering. In order to mitigate these issues, UC CubeCats has developed a high altitude balloon (HAB) educational program known as the CubeCats Applied Training in Space Exploration (CATiSE) program. By building a HAB, members of the CATiSE program can complete a project using a well-documented space mission engineering process that is similar to the process used for CubeSats. However, unlike CubeSat missions, HAB missions tend to have a shorter lifecycle and lower cost, allowing new members to experiment and learn in a low-risk environment. This CATiSE program includes multiple design reviews, an integration and verification plan, design drawings, and designs of the mission and system architecture. The program was designed to last a full school year, starting with concept exploration in the fall and launch in early April. This is UC CubeCats second HAB launch and the first time the CATiSE program has been implemented. The project to be launched this April, code named project TOYGER, will travel 30km into the stratosphere while the payload measures both radiation energy and light wavelengths. The payload will also take 360-degree images throughout the flight of the balloon. This data will be stored on an external storage device and recovered along with the payload. In order to track the payload, GPS data will be transmitted to the automatic packet reporting system (APRS) as well as a ground station constructed by the members of the CATiSE program. At the end of this 8-month program, new members of UC CubeCats will have a well-founded understanding of the space mission and systems engineering process and will have increased their engineering ability to develop and launch a system that must operate in the harsh environment of space.
Presentation
A Novel Approach to Space Systems Engineering Education through the Construction of High Altitude Balloons
UC CubeCats is a student organization from the University of Cincinnati dedicated to the education of its members through the development of CubeSats. For every university CubeSat program, there are certain challenges that exist. One of the largest challenges for university CubeSat programs is new member recruitment and retention. New members are often intimidated by the knowledge and experience of more senior members because they have no experience in space systems engineering. In order to mitigate these issues, UC CubeCats has developed a high altitude balloon (HAB) educational program known as the CubeCats Applied Training in Space Exploration (CATiSE) program. By building a HAB, members of the CATiSE program can complete a project using a well-documented space mission engineering process that is similar to the process used for CubeSats. However, unlike CubeSat missions, HAB missions tend to have a shorter lifecycle and lower cost, allowing new members to experiment and learn in a low-risk environment. This CATiSE program includes multiple design reviews, an integration and verification plan, design drawings, and designs of the mission and system architecture. The program was designed to last a full school year, starting with concept exploration in the fall and launch in early April. This is UC CubeCats second HAB launch and the first time the CATiSE program has been implemented. The project to be launched this April, code named project TOYGER, will travel 30km into the stratosphere while the payload measures both radiation energy and light wavelengths. The payload will also take 360-degree images throughout the flight of the balloon. This data will be stored on an external storage device and recovered along with the payload. In order to track the payload, GPS data will be transmitted to the automatic packet reporting system (APRS) as well as a ground station constructed by the members of the CATiSE program. At the end of this 8-month program, new members of UC CubeCats will have a well-founded understanding of the space mission and systems engineering process and will have increased their engineering ability to develop and launch a system that must operate in the harsh environment of space.
