Ever wanted to launch a satellite?
Students in Patrick County Schools soon will have that opportunity, due to a partnership with NASA and Virginia Space.
“This is a really cool opportunity for our kids,” Schools Superintendent Bill Sroufe said Friday of the school division’s participation in the low cost, short term program designed to increase student engagement and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related fields.
In a collaborative project with other divisions around the state, Sroufe said students will put together a ThinSat, a small satellite capable of transmitting data from low earth orbit.
Kits are expected to arrive in October, Sroufe said.
However, details such as the exact start date and which grades/classes will participate; have not yet been set, he added.
Participating students will develop satellite hardware, test sensor components with low and high altitude balloon flights, analyze data, and launch an actual payload into space, according to Sroufe and online information.
Each ThinSat mission spans the length of only one school year and incorporates three phases during which students are introduced to satellite sensors and the engineering iterative process, according to online information.
In the first phase, students conduct flight operations and launch a low-altitude balloon with the sensor-board, called the FlatSat, attached as a data transmitting payload.
During the second phase, students develop a payload representative of the final product and integrate it with a 3D printed Engineering Model of the ThinSat, which will allow for realistic testing. The Engineering Models will then be sent to a centralized location for a high altitude balloon flight.
In the third phase, students use data collected during the second phase to finalize a payload for flight in orbit. This payload is then sent to Twiggs Space Lab for testing before it is integrated into a containerized satellite dispenser and prepared for launch.
Virginia Space partners with Twiggs Space Lab, Orbital ATK, and NASA Wallops Flight Facility in the program.
