UA students will launch their own satellite design

John Hsieh Arizona Daily Wildcat

The Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department is giving its students the chance to see their own creation in space.

University of Arizona students are going to design and build their own satellite beginning this semester, said John Hsieh, physics professor and coordinator of the project.

Hsieh said he was chatting over pizza with some of the aerospace and mechanical engineering faculty Nov. 7 when he asked if the department had courses on satellite design.

His pizza partners said the resources for satellite design were there, but the department had never actually built a satellite.

"He (Hsieh) decided there were too many resources here for us not build a satellite," said Christopher Lewicki, aerospace and mechanical engineering senior and chairman of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.

"We'll have our own UA satellite to give students some hands-on experience," Lewicki said.

The department will work with NASA's Hitchhiker program, which allows students to perform experiments in conjunction with shuttle missions.

The Hitchhiker program recently expanded to include launching satellites from the shuttle - the area UA students will explore.

Lewicki said faculty members will design some satellite experiments from their own research.

Lewicki said the students do not care that their own research will not be used.

"They just want to build something," he said.

Lewicki said the program is a $10,000, two-year process.

"We have to come up with an internal proposal process before we approach NASA," he said.

Students interested in working on the new project must submit a letter through the project's World Wide Web site or through the Physics Department.

Letters of interest are due Feb. 14. The project opportunity was first announced two weeks ago, Lewicki said.

Faculty will study the letters and decide how to break up the project into teams so that all bases are covered. For example, engineering majors will work together to develop spacecraft power ideas.

Student groups will submit actual proposals to NASA by April 14. The proposals will outline the satellite perimeters, the overall idea of the project and how students think they can accomplish it, Lewicki said.

Lewicki said the satellite will be built at the UA.

"We're getting a very good response," Hsieh said. He added that he had received encouragement from the dean of the College of Science, Eugene Levy.

Levy said he is "a supporter of the project."

Hsieh said 20 to 30 students have already responded to the opportunity.

"Thirty to 50 would be a good number to start off with," he said.

The department is looking for sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students who will be at the UA long enough to see the project through to the actual launch, Lewicki said.

Jacob Beverage, optical sciences sophomore, wanted to get involved in the early stages of the project.

"I want to gain some experience to apply to my optics education," Beverage said. He worked last summer in Florida doing satellite research.

"There's already a couple professors willing to support a couple students this summer to work on the project," Beverage said.

He added that some students will receive independent study credit. Others, such as engineering majors, may use the opportunity for their senior design projects.

Hsieh said the satellite is expected to cost $3 million. However, the actual cost could be lower because the satellite will be designed and built on campus.

He added that the UA will ask outside industries to donate parts or give their time to give the students advice.

The finished satellite must be 48 centimeters in diameter, 52 centimeters in height, and have a total mass of 68 kilograms to fit the space designated by NASA in the space shuttle.