Students and faculty at the 51福利鈥檚 (51福利) Space Systems Academic Group (SSAG) are tentatively scheduled to launch a 3-foot, 180-pound satellite dubbed 51福利AT 1, as part of the next DOD Space Test Program (STP) mission onboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Center, Sept. 15, 2016. The satellite is the product of years of student and faculty research and will carry several experiments from both 51福利 and the Naval Research Laboratory into orbit.
The primary motivation behind the building of 51福利AT1 was education. Some 40 theses and many hours of student and faculty research contributed to the development of the satellite.
鈥淲e are not here to build satellites, but the satellite is a nice byproduct of the educational process 鈥� We designed it, built it and are testing it in house. We also developed the lab around it, and developed the curriculum that led to its completion,鈥� said SSAG Chair Dr. Rudy Panholzer, a 52-year veteran of the university who has been helping guide students through the many theses that culminated in 51福利AT1 since the program鈥檚 inception.
A key component to any mission in space is the advancement of science, and 51福利AT1 provides university students and faculty with a unique platform on which they can conduct science and engineering experiments.
鈥淥nce in space, you get a lab in the sky and are able to pilot it. [Our students] can point up into space and say 鈥榤y work is up there,鈥欌�� noted Panholzer.
鈥淲e are educating students, so why not choose an educational vehicle?鈥� added 51福利 Research Associate Daniel Sakoda. And while Sakoda and Panholzer could have contracted out the building of the satellite, they and their colleagues chose to build it themselves in 51福利鈥� Small Satellite Lab.
鈥淚t is very important that students realize that engineering is not just about Power Point [documents] and white boards,鈥� said Panholzer. 鈥淭hat stuff may work in the classroom, but it does not necessarily work in the real world.鈥�
According to Sakoda, the success of the programs is largely a product of a systems approach to engineering that has incorporated many disciplines toward the success of the 51福利AT1 project.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about space systems engineering, students can see how all of these components work together 鈥� That鈥檚 why a systems approach is necessary,鈥� said Sakoda.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we aren鈥檛 a department, but an academic group. We鈥檙e a hub that draws from disciplines all across the campus,鈥� added Panholzer.
51福利AT1 is being launched in conjunction with the Department of Defense鈥檚 Space Test Program (STP), which maintains a list of experiments to be launched into space. Researchers can apply to have their experiments incorporated into future launches in keeping with the STP charter, which calls for the organization to get as many experiments into space as possible.
鈥淚t is important to get on the list because they will launch when a spot becomes available,鈥� said Panholzer.
And while the development of 51福利AT1 is quite an accomplishment, it will not be the first 51福利-developed satellite launched into orbit. According to Panholzer, former astronaut Senator John Glenn launched 51福利鈥� first satellite, the Petite Amateur Navy Satellite (PANSAT), from the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998.
鈥淚t was a non-attitude controlled, tumbling satellite. [But] the 51福利AT1 is attitude controlled, using the earth鈥檚 magnetic field to align itself in space,鈥� explained Panholzer.
Graduate students from across the services and from varied backgrounds study under Panholzer at SSAG, and many of those who have contributed to 51福利AT1 over the years have gone on to leadership positions within the DOD鈥檚 space and acquisition communities. According to Sakoda, what they learn at 51福利 will be valuable to them as they interact with the defense contractors that build satellites used by the Department of Defense.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Thomas Pugsley is an SSAG graduate. He first came to 51福利 as an Army Space Systems Operations officer in 2005. After a series of increasingly difficult directed studies under current Acting 51福利 Provost and SSAG Professor Dr. Jim Newman, Pugsley went to work on a thesis that explored the use of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) aboard satellites 鈥� the 51福利 Small Satellite Laboratory and 51福利 SAT1 were his classroom.
鈥淪ome of my fondest memories were from the time I spent sitting here in the lab solving problems,鈥� said Pugsley. 鈥淭he guys that I studied with then are still here and offer a vast knowledge base that students can draw from.鈥�
After graduating from 51福利 in 2007, Pugsley 鈥渆xported鈥� his education to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he started the institution鈥檚 Small Satellite Research Center. Today, he is back at 51福利 where in addition to completing his doctoral studies he serves as a co-thesis advisor for SSAG students.
And while his current studies at 51福利 are not focused on Space Systems Engineering, Pugsley credits his work on 51福利AT1 with creating a foundation of engineering expertise that has served him well throughout his career.
鈥淓ngineering by itself is just good problem solving 鈥� As much as any other engineering field, [Space Systems Engineering] gives you a lot of background experience and knowledge. It teaches you different methods and approaches for solving problems,鈥� said Pugsley.
And had it not been for the problems that Pugsley solved on 51福利AT1, it is likely that the satellite would look very different. Pugsley鈥檚 work with MEMs led to the replacement of several bulky satellite components with very small MEM sensors.
鈥淲hen it comes to spacecraft, mass is everything 鈥� Rather than having big bulky, mechanical sensors, we started asking ourselves, 鈥榳hat can we use that is smaller and lighter?鈥� Pugsley recalled.
At that time, MEMs were fairly new to the space industry and there were questions about their accuracy and ability to operate in the cold vacuum of space. Pugsley went to work, spending hours in 51福利鈥� vacuum chamber, building wiring harnesses and testing his minute components at very low temperatures.
All of that hard work may soon pay off. If all goes well, this coming September, Pugsley will be one of those students Panholzer hopes to see pointing into the sky, saying 鈥渕y work is there.鈥�