bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Findings from the ESA Education Fly a Rocket Campaign - Sensor Experiments Team
Authors: Michalek Ota , Timmerman Mike , Szczebak Filip , Youds Theodore , Alcañiz Gomez Del Pulgar Jorge , Nallo Gloria , Kutnohorsky Viktoria , Lehtiniemi Helena Katariina , Psaltakis Georgios
Published: July 2022

The paper summarises the endeavour of 24 students during a Fly a Rocket campaign in October 2021. The programme is an educational week-long activity aimed at university students with limited hands-on experience. The campaign took place at Andøya Space Center and was possible by the collaboration of ESA Education, Andøya Space, and the Norwegian Space Agency. The participants learnt about the fundamental aspects of a rocket launch campaign, from deciding the scientific case, rocket assembly, safety briefings and countdown procedures. The students came from diverse backgrounds, such as aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, physics, mathematics and astronomy. They were divided into three groups for the campaign: payload, telemetry and sensor experiments. The paper mainly focuses on the findings of the sensor experiments group. It first introduces the launch campaign details and the online course. Then, all the steps that went into the scientific cases, which students had to prepare, are summarised. The cases they decided to work on included a comparison of the trajectory simulation done in OpenRocket and the real-life measurements, cloud detection using optical and humidity sensors, the measurement of the spin of the rocket and the collection of data from the atmosphere that was compared to the international standard atmosphere. This paper aims to share the learning outcomes from this campaign with the wider public and students. The collaboration and responsibilities of the students taught them many important lessons, most notably the importance of diversity and the significance of cross-communication between teams
Lessons-learned from teaching satellite operations in a novel hands-on student project utilizing in-orbit spacecraft during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Erdmann Tony , Krachten Mara
Published: July 2022

The Chair of Space Technology at TU Berlin continuously develops new satellite technology and software that is verified and used in various missions in orbit. 27 satellites were launched as of 2022. Many of these satellites by far outreach their design lifetime and work until today. At the same time, an increasing number of satellites not only in the academic domain is demanding for qualified operators. Hence, some of the satellites at TU Berlin are not fully operated anymore. To enable an efficient and sustainable use of those satellites, a novel hands-on student-driven project was implemented in order to utilize these aged but functional satellites to train a new generation of satellite operators. In this lecture course, students with various backgrounds are introduced to the basics of satellite operations by student tutors. Using a laboratory model of a CubeSat as a hardware-in-the-loop operations simulation, participants can collect first experiences in the university’s own Mission Control Center (MCC). Besides theoretical and practical foundations of satellite operations they gain skills in managing and coordinating satellite missions. After finishing the basic course in a theoretical and practical operations test, students qualify to participate in the advanced project giving them the opportunity to work with and operate the available satellites in orbit under supervision. Each semester, several interdisciplinary teams conduct experiments such as Earth Observation scenarios or work on related tasks like the improvement of the operations software or Human Factors of satellite operations. The pandemic has posed new challenges to this innovative educational concept, but was also a motivation to find alternative ways to teach satellite operations. The setup of simulated operations in the MCC was transformed into a combined setup of remote access and video conference. In this way, students are enabled to practice satellite operations from home. Theoretical lectures are prepared as screencasts. Further, the advanced project work was transferred to a remote manner. Students planned satellite scenarios from home, which subsequently were conducted by the student tutors, who provided the acquired telemetry data to the participants for analysis. Among the results of the project are several images with the focus on environmental monitoring of Earth, a software update for a satellite and the continuous analysis and documentation of degradation of components that have been in orbit for many years. These achievements do not only provide exciting hands-on classes and new skills to the students but often even contribute to the institution’s research
From educational programmes to professional projects: finding flight opportunities
Authors: Frenea Schmidt Armelle , Johansson Henrik , Krämer Stefan
Published: July 2022

Nowadays, lots of opportunities are offered to students to fly their own experiment on board of rockets or balloons. Thanks to those opportunities, young scientists have a chance to experience hands-on project and even to find a vocation: pursuing experimentations on-board of flight missions. However, it can appear, for these young professionals, that flying on board sounding rockets or stratospheric balloons is hard to access or to afford. Yet the opportunities exist and are waiting for them! Space educational programmes enable students to learn, in a short period of time, all phases of a scientific project; a unique chance to experience a full project cycle from objectives’ definition to the publication of the results. Thus, students define mission requirements, design, manufacture, test and finally launch their own experiment! On REXUS/BEXUS [1] for example, students experience an end-to-end project with all disciplines required by a Space project (science, mechanics, electronics, software, system engineering, management, finances, outreach). The concretisation of all efforts occurs during the launch campaign, organised at SSC Esrange (Sweden). The campaign is always an intense period for the participants: high level of concentration, pressure, stress but a massive work that pays off during the flight and after. Usually, this key event enables ideas and improvements to pop up; a prolific event to define the next step of an experiment, maybe on a future mission! Many students start their professional career after the campaign. Despite new ideas and the drive to pursue, a common idea of these young professionals is that it is hard to access to flight opportunities on sounding rockets or stratospheric balloons while not being a student anymore: too expensive to finance a campaign? too complex to organise? who to contact? Many questions that it is time to answer. Yes, it is possible! At SSC, we enable access to stratospheric balloons, sounding rockets and drop tests on a cost-efficient entrance level or fully funded through national and international programmes. One of these examples is the EOSTRE mission [2] (Experiment on Outliving Microorganisms under Stratospheric Environment), developed by FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences (Germany) in collaboration with the University of Oulu (Finland); a former BEXUS team that developed its own balloon mission, launched successfully from Esrange in March 2020. Several former students from REXUS/BEXUS have joined professional opportunities, such as the HEMERA [3] programme, with the experiments GRASS from INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica) and STRAINS (Sapienza University, Rome) and launched it from Esrange in September 2021. Today, SSC is also offering ride share opportunities on sounding rockets with the programme SubOrbital Express [4]; first successful launch was in June 2019 on board MASER 14 (S1X-1). Opportunities are still open for the next missions in fall 2022 (S1X-3) and in 2023 (S1X-4)
ESA Academy activities during COVID-19
Authors: Kinnaird Alexander , Vanreusel Joost , Callens Natacha , Savage Nigel , Nuermberger Maximilian , Aguzzi Manuela , Van Walleghem Merel
Published: July 2022

The ESA Academy is the ESA Education Office’s overarching programme for university students. The Academy’s portfolio consists of both ‘hands-on’ activities, and a Training and Learning Programme. Conventionally both of these elements involve a significant number of in person events, for example training sessions, workshops and test and launch campaigns. The educational nature and practical aspects of such events has traditionally necessitated in person participation. Additionally, most of the Academy’s ‘hands-on’ programmes revolve around student teams designing, building, testing and operating an experiment or spacecraft, activities which rely on the availability and delivery of commercial components, and access to manufacturing, testing and launch facilities, and laboratories. In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated restrictions, began to take hold in Europe, nearly all the ESA Academy programmes were affected. Despite the challenges, the Academy continued to deliver activities, and the student teams participating in the Academy’s programmes continued to achieve major milestones, including launching experiments to the ISS, CubeSat testing and launch and execution of micro- and hyper-gravity experiments. This paper explores the challenges faced during COVID-19 and how both the programmes and the students participating in the programmes adapted to meet their educational, scientific, and technical goals. Furthermore, the longer-term adaptation of some of these changes into the future execution of the programmes is discussed
Establishment of the Space Engineering Program in Hungary
Authors: Bacsardi Laszlo , Csurgai Horvath Laszlo
Published: July 2022

The Hungarian space age started in 1946 with the successful Lunar Radar experiment by Zoltán Bay. In the past 75 years, the Hungarian space sector evolved and grew dramatically, achieving international recognition in space communications, material science, picosatellites, dosimetry, and many more domains. However, there was no space engineering related higher education program in the country. After hosting the 2nd Symposium on Space Educational Activities in 2018 in Budapest, there was an emerging need for starting a space program for engineering students. A summer workshop organized by the Hungarian Astronautical Society in 2018 fostered further the process, and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) officially initialized the establishment of the space engineering master curriculum in 2019. By the end of 2020, the relevant ministry approved the national space engineering master curriculum. This means that every Hungarian university, which has the necessary competences, can start a space engineering program for their students. In early 2021, the BME Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics at BME requested approval for its space engineering master program. In October 2021, the relevant body approved the program, allowing the first class of space engineering students to arrive to the university in September 2022. The Hungarian space engineering master curriculum is a 2-year-long master program for 120 credits (in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, ECTS). The master's program at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics has 26 subjects and a 4-week-long industrial training. We outline the establishment process of the national space engineering curriculum and introduce the curriculum of BME
Deployment mechanism for an L-Band Helix antenna on-board the 3Cat-4 1U CubeSat
Authors: Fernández Capón Lara Pilar , Sobrino Hidalgo Marco , Milian Oriol , Aguilella Merelas Andrea , Solanellas Bofarull Arnau , Badia Ballús Marc , Muñoz Martin Joan Francesc , Ruiz De Azúa Ortega Juan Adrián , Sureda Anfres Miquel , Camps Carmona Adriano José
Published: July 2022

Earth Observation (EO) is key for climate and environmental monitoring at global level, and in specific regions where the effects of global warming are more noticeable, such as in polar regions, where ice melt is also opening new commercial maritime routes. Soil moisture is also useful for agriculture and monitoring the advance of desertification, as well as biomass and carbon storage. Global Navigation Satellite System - Reflectometry (GNSS-R) and L-band microwave Radiometry are passive microwave remote sensing techniques that can be used to perform these types of measurements regardless of the illumination and cloud conditions, and -since they are passive- they are well suited for small satellites, where power availability is a limiting factor. GNSS-R was tested from space onboard the UK-DMC and the UK TechDemoSat-1, and several missions have been launched using GNSS-R as main instrument, as CyGNSS, BuFeng-1, or the FSSCAT [1] mission. These missions aim at providing soil moisture [2], ocean wind speed [3], and flooding mapping of the Earth. L-band microwave radiometry data has also been retrieved from space with SMOS and SMAP missions, obtaining sea ice thickness, soil moisture, and ocean salinity data [4]. The 3Cat-4 mission was selected by the ESA Academy "Fly your Satellite" program in 2017. It aims at combining both GNSS-R and L-band Microwave Radiometry at in a low-power and cost-effective 1-Unit (1U) satellite. Moreover, the 3Cat-4 can also detect Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals from vessels. The single payload is the Flexible Microwave Payload 1 (FMPL-1) [5] that performs the signal conditioning and signal processing for GNSS-R, L-Band microwave radiometry and AIS experiments. The spacecraft has three payload antennas: (1) a VHF monopole for AIS signals; (2) an uplooking antenna for the direct GPS signals; (3) a downlooking antenna that captures reflected GPS signals, and for the Microwave Radiometer. The downlooking antenna is a deployable helix antenna called the Nadir Antenna and Deployment Subsystem (NADS) which has a volume of less than 0,3U when stowed, achieving an axial length of more than 500 mm when deployed. As part of this mission, the design of the NADS antenna, its RF performance, as well as the environmental tests performed in terms of structural and thermal space conditions will be presented.
Lessons learned during the development of LEDSAT from the students of the S5Lab
Authors: Frezza Lorenzo , Marzioli Paolo , Gianfermo Andrea , Picci Niccolo , Bedetti Emanuele , Curiano Federico , Amadio Diego , Santoni Fabio , Piergentili Fabrizio
Published: July 2022

The LEDSAT 1U Cubesat, a satellite roughly 10x10x11cm, was developed between late 2016 and 2021 by students of Sapienza University of Rome. The project was conceived with the help of the University of Michigan and started being developed by space engineering master students of Sapienza in a class context. The team of the S5Lab (Sapienza Space System and Space Surveillance Laboratory) continued the project and applied for the Fly Your Satellite! Programme of ESA Education, which has followed the development of the CubeSat, providing important expert support and periodic reviews. The approach brought to the students an invaluable educational experience as they participated actively in the development of a spacecraft with the typical milestones of satellite projects. The mission objectives of LEDSAT include the use of onboard LEDs for improved orbit determination, experimental attitude determination and backup light communication. Each of the six sides of the CubeSat houses an LED board of a different color (red, green, and blue) with opposite sides with paired color. The LEDs can flash a pattern predefined by radio telecommand and the light is observed using ground telescopes. The design of the spacecraft started in late 2016 and was presented at the selection workshop of the Fly Your Satellite! Programme in May 2017. Final assembly took place in mid-2020 after which the team performed functional and environmental testing between October and December 2020, with the objective of ensuring the survivability of the spacecraft in the space environment and characterization of its behavior. After successful testing, the spacecraft was integrated inside the deployer in July 2021 in Brno, Czech Republic and was launched from Kourou, French Guiana on August 17th, 2021, aboard the Vega VV19 launcher. The spacecraft is now in orbit and operating nominally, with the LED flashes having been observed several times. The development of the spacecraft was not without difficulty, with preventable issues arising through testing that imposed design changes and further analysis - the paper will walk through the project since its conception, throughout the development, the functional and environmental testing of the payload and at system level, emphasizing the lessons learned by the students.
O-ZONE: affordable stratospheric air dynamic sampling device
Authors: Toson Federico , Pavan Matilde , Sandu Dumitrita , Sandon Simone , Furiato Marco , Antoniazzi Luigi , Righi Giovanni , Pitarresi Antonino , Pulice Mauro , Magnani David , Panariti Daniele , Conte Andrea , Segna Carlotta , Lopresti Stefano , Olivieri Lorenzo
Published: July 2022

The current situation regarding air pollution, global warming and the world approaching the point of no return have led the United Nations to focus on improving the environmental situation through the SDGs [1]. In line with these ambitions, O-ZONE team, was born in 2019 with the clear objective of taking concrete action against climate change [2]. The team's goal is to build a compact, low-cost, and reusable device to sample stratospheric pollutants, at various altitudes and thus provide air quality indications in mid-range areas for monitoring, prevention, and rapid intervention in case of unpredictable events. The O-ZONE team was therefore born as an idea of some students from the Aerospace Engineering course at the same University. The students took part in the REXUS/BEXUS project by Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) and European Space Agency (ESA) [3]. As in each of these projects, the team tackled the various steps of space missions but, in this case, with extra constraints. They had to work during the lockdown with various complications due to the pandemic. Although the launch was delayed, the students carried on with their motivation and then launched their device on board the BEXUS 30. The prototype launched in Kiruna - Sweden (at the Esrange base), and which reached an altitude of 27.8 km, is a sampling system for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), such as NOX and SOX, Particulate Matter (PM) and Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) responsible for the depletion of the Ozone layer [4]. These types of samplers [2] fill the technological gap in atmospheric analysis; the current state of the art allows air to be monitored only statically from ground stations or by satellite analysis [5], while O-ZONE presents an accessible, easy-to-use and rapid in situ sampling method. This paper describes the technical specifications and design aspects of the device and the experience that has allowed the students to grow as a team, especially in terms of personal skills and the ability to work with concurrent engineering and interdisciplinarity. Finally, the experiment results will be shown.
RITA: a 1U multi-sensor Earth observation payload for the AlainSat-1
Authors: Pérez Portero Adrián , Fernández Capón Lara Pilar , Badia Ballús Marc , Fabregat P. , Rayon L. , Gonga Siles Amadeu , Crisan Ieremia , Garcia A. , Munuera Vilalta Mar , Contreras L. , Ramos Castro Juan José , Jallad A.H. , Camps Carmona Adriano José
Published: July 2022

The Remote sensing and Interference detector with radiomeTry and vegetation Analysis (RITA) is one of the Remote Sensing payloads selected as winners of the 2nd GRSS Student Grand Challenge in 2019, to fly on board of the 3U AlainSat-1. This CubeSat is being developed by the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), United Arab Emirates University. RITA has been designed as an academic mission, which brings together students from different backgrounds in a joint effort to apply very distinct sensors in an Earth Observation mission, fusing their results to obtain higher-accuracy measurements. The main payload used in RITA is a Total Power Radiometer such as the one on board the FSSCat mission. With these radiometric measurements, soil moisture and ice thickness will be obtained. To better characterize the extensive Radio-Frequency Interferences received by EO satellites in protected bands, several RFI Detection and Classification algorithms will be included to generate a worldwide map of RFI. As a novel addition to the 3Cat family of satellites and payloads, a hyper-spectral camera with 25 bands ranging from 600 to 975 nm will be used to obtain several indexes related to vegetation. By linking these measurements with the soil moisture obtained from the MWR, pixel downscaling can be attempted. Finally, a custom- developed LoRa transceiver will be included to provide a multi-level approach to in-situ sensors: On-demand executions of the other payloads will be able to be triggered from ground sensors if necessary, as well as simple reception of other measurements that will complement the ones obtained on the satellite. The antennas for both the MWR and the LoRa experiments have been developed in-house, and will span the entirety of one of the 3U sides of the satellite. In this work, the latest development advances will be presented, together with an updated system overview and information about the operations that will be conducted. Results obtained from the test campaign are also presented in the conference.
TEASPOON: a once in a lifetime opportunity to Sedna
Authors: Cecio Francesco de , Asperti Marco , Babato Andrea , Bassetto Elia , Beccari Lorenzo , Capra Lorenzo , Iaccarino Rosario , Littoriano Gerardo , Matteoni Paolo , Modè Marco , Lavagna Michèle
Published: July 2022

In the challenge of unveiling the enigmas that still surround the origin and early evolution of the Solar System, the study of trans-Neptunian objects plays a crucial role. For this purpose, Sedna is probably the most intriguing candidate for a space mission. A better understanding of its highly elliptical orbit could improve our knowledge of the evolution of the Solar System and could potentially lead to the discovery of an unknown planet. Moreover, the planetoid is expected to host a significant amount of tholins and probably a subsurface ocean of liquid water, making the analysis of its composition extremely interesting. In 2076, Sedna will reach its minimum distance of 76 AU from the Sun. This is a scientific opportunity that will not happen again in the next 11400 years.

Exploiting this instance, TransnEptuniAn Sedna PrObe for Outer exploratioN (TEASPOON) is a mission proposal to send a probe to Sedna, featuring a payload suite to perform an optical characterization, study the particle environment and conduct a radio-science experiment.

Moreover, the long travel will be an opportunity to explore the Kuiper Belt looking for observations or, hopefully, discover new objects. The harsh environment, characterized by objects with unknown trajectories, requires Collision Avoidance strategies, while long-term radiation exposition demands electronics shielding and the preference for rad-hard components. More generally, the 77 AU distance and 30 years duration of the mission makes the design even more demanding. Therefore, solving those challenges would inaugurate a new generation of space missions to the edges of the Solar System and beyond.

This proposal has been developed in the framework of a Space Mission Analysis and Design course by a team of students at the master level in Space Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. A concurrent engineering approach has been followed, leading the study through its phase

0/A. This enabled them to practice in actual working conditions of a space agency’s mission study, and underlined the importance of this kind of experience at a Master’s level course.
Asociación Aeroespacial Cosmos: educational impact and returns of a three-year-old student aerospace association
Authors: Solá Molina Alondra , Solano López Pablo , Cuevas del Valle Sergio , Velázquez Navarro Ester , Townsend Patrick , Alberca Díez Paula , Urrutxua Cereijo Hodei
Published: July 2022

Cosmos Aerospace Association is a leading engineering students’ group, located in the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) in Madrid, Spain. Providing a one-of-a-kind opportunity to all varieties of students for both personal and engineering growth, it is one of the few active aerospace student associations in Spain. Within this work, we introduce the achievements, influence and lessons learned from our association in these years. We focus on its educational impact in the environment of the university: not only from the perspective of aerospace-related degrees but also in the promotion of STEM careers on students of all ages.

Conceived by undergraduate aerospace students and supported by professors and university staff, Cosmos was born to provide a creative and learning environment in the promotion of our passion for space and science in general. Bringing together students with similar mindsets, it has become a symbiotic platform in which all university actors share their efforts and join forces to enhance the university experience both from a curricular and extracurricular perspective.

The association is divided into three main areas: Administration and Legal, Construction, and Education. Each of these areas branch with Projects and smaller teams both transversal and vertically. Under the Construction branch, both aeromodelling, satellite and rocketry projects

are found and developed. An autonomous VTOL vehicle and a solid combustion rocket are being designed with internal and external funding. Special mention goes to the design and construction of CosmoSat-1, our very first CubeSat mission, which is now starting to take off. The Education area involves the organization of cultural and educational activities, from coding seminars, hackathons to film forums or Women in STEM days, all of them transversal to the aerospace industry. In this regard, our most ambitious project to date has been SpaceCon URJC: a space-themed conference by and for university students, bringing together professionals from aerospace companies, space agencies, and research groups in a month-long virtual conference. Over a series of presentations and interviews, students can get a glimpse of a variety of possible careers in everything from satellite manufacturing, orbital mechanics, space debris, and everything in between. With an initial run in 2020, SpaceCon has been repeated in 2021 with great success.

In short, COSMOS, while promoting a passionate interest for Space, has become a common meeting point for students and professors outside the fixed and fitted courses, where creativity can boom and grow.
Collaborative Space Design project: A student’s experience
Authors: Bianchi Francesco , Ciggaar Rooderick , Formisani Ludovica , Harrison Benjamin , Tamai Carla , Tunjov Vassili
Published: July 2022

The student members of the Collaborative Space (systems) Design (CSD) project discuss its implementation and highlight its concepts. The CSD project is an elective course at the MSc Space Flight programme at the Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, where students exercise the design process of a space mission, spacecraft or a major spacecraft subsystem in a team setting, along with several important external stakeholders. Focus was given to the application of concurrent engineering and systems engineering techniques. Interaction between the students and the external stakeholders was also extremely valued. Two teams participated, one designing a liquid oxygen electric pump and one a CubeSat asteroid observer mission. In this work the students report their experience, highlighting how they approached the different phases of the design process. Positives and negatives of the course are also presented, together with some feedback on potential

modifications to future editions of the course.
Student perspective and lessons learned from participating in the European Rover Challenge 2021
Authors: Torrent Arnau , Solé Pol , Pan Àngel , Anguera Aiyanna , Barja Adrià
Published: July 2022

The European Rover Challenge (ERC) is a competition where multiple teams from all around the world must face the technical, logistical, scientific and managerial difficulties of designing, building and operating a rover capable of performing a myriad of different tasks in a Mars analogue terrain (also known as Mars Yard). The competition, held in Kielce, Poland and organized by the Kielce University of Technology in collaboration with the European Space Foundation, regional governments, the European Space Agency, the Mars Society and other honorary patrons showcases each team’s creativity, innovation, drive and passion to an expecting audience, serves as an entry point to complex large-scale engineering projects for students from all backgrounds, supplying them with essential soft skills often overlooked during regular university education and connects like-minded individuals from different countries, encouraging international communication and collaboration in the aerospace industry. The authors of this paper participated in last year’s competition, ERC2021, and achieved 10th position. In this paper the insider perspective from first-time ERC participants will be discussed, including all the steps made to apply and qualify, the issues faced along the way, the lessons learned and the final experience of the on-site trials.
Montsec Ground Station
Authors: Badia M. , Pérez Portero Adrián , García Aina
Published: July 2022

In every space mission, the ability to contact the satellite to transmit or receive telecommands and data is one of the critical parts, so having a good ground segment is fundamental. In support to 3Cat-2 operations a ground station was first developed by the UPC NanoSat Lab at UPC Campus Nord premises. However, due to increasing radio frequency interference it was moved to the Institute Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) - Observatori del Montsec (OdM), located in Sant Esteve de la Sarga, Lleida. This location has outstanding reception conditions in terms of very weak interference levels, and excellent elevation mask (i.e. satellites can be tracked even below the horizon). The ground station is equipped with a TX/RX Yagi antenna for amateur bands VHF (144-146 MHz) and UHF (435-438 MHz), and it also includes an S-band 3-meter dish in the commercial band (2025-2110 MHz, 2200-2290 MHz) for reception that will be upgraded for transmission in 2022. The antenna rotors, receivers etc. are remotely controlled to the operation-center in Barcelona and operations can be automated. Nowadays, the ground station is jointly operated by the UPC NanoSat Lab and the IEEC in support to the Catalan New Space strategy, in addition to the upcoming UPC missions.
FlatSat workshops teaching fundamental electronics skills for CubeSat building
Authors: Cormier Luis , Robson Daniel , Cope Henry
Published: July 2022

The University of Nottingham (UoN) recently established its own CubeSat programme, with the team commencing design, construction and testing of the first CubeSats in late 2020. However, one major challenge encountered was a common lack of practical applied electronics skills amongst students. This was repeatedly noted by students as a major obstacle to project success in progress reviews for WormSail, our first CubeSat project. Notably, these sorts of skills are also an area of common concern for young workers and employers in the UK Space Sector. This skill gap existed despite the student team coming from a variety of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) undergraduate backgrounds, including physics, computer science, and aerospace and mechanical engineering. With insufficient time to recruit students with electronic engineering backgrounds, it proved difficult to find "all-rounders" to join the team with the broad range of skills required for the project.

One advantage that several students had however was their experience from informal hobbies involving Arduino and Raspberry Pi (RPi) based microcontroller electronics. These were found to endow highly transferrable skills, with these members providing significant contributions to the team through their skills and teaching. Team members found these so useful, that the “FlatSat” programme was set up to provide electronics teaching resources for new members of the CubeSat team. Sessions within the programme could be planned and delivered by the experienced team members, and hence be targeted to include applicable, referrable, and important skills and knowledge for building CubeSats.

Through developing these resources, the team realised it may be beneficial to include this programme in taught modules offered in the Faculty of Engineering, to enhance practical skills for all students enrolled in these modules. This paper is intended to overview the work carried out in developing the FlatSat teaching workshop, and highlight the resources and their benefits to groups including other higher education space module conveners, developing CubeSat teams, School and further education teachers, STEM Outreach Coordinators, and general hobbyists. It is hoped that boosting confidence with such in-demand skills will be of great benefit to learners. We will also review case studies of the first large-scale workshop sessions and outline plans for future developments, particularly taking into consideration the feedback of demonstrators, students, and observers to the workshop.
Artery in Microgravity (AIM): Assembly, integration, and testing for a student payload for the ISS
Authors: García Mozos Luis , Saroya Devonjit , Roelvink Yannick , Santos D'Amore Naël dos , Gabetti Stefano , Galván Lobo Jorge , Lobo Catarina , Joshi Mrunmayi , Penedo Guilherme , Rodríguez Encinas Jorge Alberto , Torta Elena , Lee Seungah , Laulan-Souilhac Baptiste , Mouchel Roman , Lustro Sacha , Butin Alexis , Campos Mário Gabriel , Passoni Laura , Avallone Luigi , Alex Abin
Published: July 2022

The Artery in Microgravity (AIM) project was the first experiment to be selected for the “Orbit Your Thesis!” programme of the European Space Agency Academy. It is a 2U cube experiment that will be operated in the International Commercial Experiment (ICE) Cubes facility onboard the International Space Station. The experiment is expected to be launched on SpaceX-25 in mid-2022. The project is being developed by an international group of students from ISAE-SUPAERO and Politecnico di Torino. The objective of the experiment is to study haemodynamics in the space environment applied to coronary heart disease. The outcomes of this testbench will contribute to understanding the effects of radiation and microgravity on the circulatory system of an astronaut, specifically the behaviour in long-term human spaceflight. It will also help to ascertain the feasibility of individuals suffering from this kind of disease going to space someday. The cornerstones of the experiment are two models of 3D-printed artificial arteries, in stenotic and stented conditions respectively. Blood-mimicking fluid composed of water and glycerol is circulated

through the arteries in a closed hydraulic loop, and a red dye is injected for flow visualisation. Drops of pressure and image analysis of the flow will be studied with the corresponding sensors and camera. The pH of the fluid will also be monitored to assess the effect of augmented radiation levels on the release of particles from the metallic stent. Some delays were experienced in the project due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to implement design improvements. Improvements were made to several aspects of the design including mechanics (e.g. remanufacturing the reservoir with surface treatment against corrosion, leak prevention measures), software (e.g. upgrading to Odroid-C4 and migrating the code to

Python), and electronics (e.g. several iterations of the interface PCB design). This iterative process of identifying areas of concern and designing and implementing solutions has resulted in many lessons learned. The paper will outline in detail Phase D – Qualification and Production of the AIM experiment cube, with special insight on the implementation of the improvements. Previously, at the Symposium on Space Educational Activities in 2019 in Leicester, the initial phases of the design and development of the cube were presented. This year, the final flight model and the results of validation testing before launching on SpaceX-25 are presented. Lessons learned throughout the course of the project are also highlighted for students embarking on their own space-related educational activities.
Six-year evolution of a space-inspired collaborative problem-solving study program in Finland
Authors: Gebejes Ana , Immonen Heikki , Camarda Charles J.
Published: July 2022

This paper presents the results of the six-year qualitative longitudinal case-study of the Epic Challenge study program in Finland. Created in 2008 for NASA engineers, the Epic Challenge program has grown and evolved to teach collaborative problem solving that reaches across different disciplines and ages. The paper presents an overview and evolution of program features and teaching methodologies. In the program, students learn a challenge-based methodology called Innovative Conceptual Engineering Design (ICED) and use this methodology to develop innovative solutions connected to the overarching challenge of sustainable human habitation of Mars. The program is built around the assumption that

space exploration as a complex, multidisciplinary challenge provides the inspiration, a driving force and integrated curriculum for teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) concepts and problem-solving techniques in four key areas: teamworking, networking, systems thinking and innovation. In 2015 the program was adopted and fused with a phenomenon-based learning curriculum in Finland, and it grew to be taught to students of various backgrounds from high-school to doctoral level. The course delivery and content were modified annually based on lessons learned and more than 500 students have gone through the program in Finland. The paper presents the evolution of key program features and concludes by presenting the most robust features of the program implementations that could benefit space agencies, companies and faculty interested in promoting space and STEM related competences.
LEOniDAS drag sail experiment on the 2021 ESA Fly Your Thesis! parabolic flight campaign
Authors: Serfontein Zaria , Rigamonti Marco , Demers Edouard , Temprano Gonzalo , Kingston Jennifer
Published: July 2022

Space engineering students and academics from Cranfield University have developed two space debris mitigation drag sail concepts and three sails are currently in orbit. The sails enable a reduced time to atmospheric re-entry by increasing the natural aerodynamic drag forces acting on the host satellite. Intended to be used on small, low Earth orbit satellites, these sails provide a low-cost solution to achieving compliance with the IADC target of removal from orbit within 25 years of end-of-mission. The LEOniDAS team, comprising one PhD and three MSc students, submitted a proposal to the ESA Fly Your Thesis! parabolic flight campaign to perform microgravity deployment testing on a more scalable and adaptable hybrid design. The project aimed to qualify the new design, provide a better understanding of deployment behaviour in microgravity and allow for a deeper understanding of the effect of deployment on the host satellite. Participation in the programme provided significant

educational benefits to the students involved, resulting in three Masters theses and a major input to a PhD thesis, as well as publications and outreach activities. The experiment was presented by the students at the ESA Academy Gravity-Related Training week in January 2021. There followed extensive design, prototyping and assembly work, with regular review and input from ESA and Novespace, culminating in the two-week parabolic flight campaign in October 2021. The planned deployment experiments were successfully completed across all three flights, with

the experimenters accumulating a total of more than 30 minutes of microgravity. Data on dynamics of the sail deployments was recorded via high-speed video cameras, accelerometers and torque sensors. This paper will highlight the key scientific and educational achievements of the project, and summarise the lessons learned for the benefit of future participants in this exceptional student opportunity.
University of Nottingham Student space activities to enrich the traditional curriculum
Authors: Abadzhieva Slaveya , Oleiro Carreiro Inés , Mcleod Robert , Pérez Rovin
Published: July 2022

Students at the University of Nottingham have been establishing several student-run extracurricular groups to build their own space technology. These include model rockets, CanSat and CubeSat projects, involving students from bachelors up to PhD level across a variety of Departments. These projects have been supported through staff supervision, international collaboration, and access to facilities including a new space-focused laboratory space. Some students have recently benefitted greatly from modules and thesis projects being tailor made to further train them in hands-on space research and enable them to earn credits from participating in these projects.

This paper presents their initial findings and products of their work, along with their honest experiences which may be of interest to other new student groups hoping to establish similar programs at their university. Students have had to learn and put into practice a range of new skills and experiences, not normally found within taught course modules, and all of this under their own organisation. While the experiences are hugely valuable, for both professional and personal development, students need to work hard to maintain project longevity and team spirit when faced with difficulties from coursework deadlines, new skill demands and handover to new students after graduation.
Lessons learnt during the REXUS program on how to manage a student project
Authors: Menting Esmée , Britting Thomas , Pepermans Lars , Koops Bram
Published: July 2022

The paper discusses the lessons learnt during the SPEAR mission that takes part in the 12th cycle of the Rocket EXperiment for University Students (REXUS) sounding rocket programme. The mission originated after Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering (DARE) designed a supersonic-capable drogue parachute and was unable to test it supersonically on the existing platforms available to the team. Hence, an experiment was proposed containing an ejectable test vehicle to deploy the parachute in supersonic conditions. Throughout the 12th cycle of the REXUS program, the team has faced a number of challenges. Although during the project cycle the focus lied on resolving technical problems,

in retrospect the logistical, social, and managerial challenges were just as relevant. Despite the fact that there is ample literature and knowledge available on methods to run commercial projects, it can be difficult to connect these practices to the workings of a student team.

Therefore, this paper aims to collect and present the experience of the team on how to navigate challenges specifically related to student projects and their limited resources. Amongst which: ‘employment’ management (entry, performance and exit of team members), how to conduct internal and/or external technical reviews, assembly, integration and testing (AIT) efforts, planning and task management. As the team has gained these insights through trial and error, the mistakes made will be shared together with how this impacted the progress of the mission.
Flight hardware and software operations performance review for BAMMsat-on-BEXUS – a BioCubeSat prototype flown on BEXUS30
Authors: Zalasiewicz Mateusz , Shamsul Aqeel , Sinclair Giovanni , Bolliand Adrien , Giraud Romain , Cullen David , Cooke Michael
Published: July 2022

BAMMsat-on-BEXUS is a student-led project in which a CubeSat-compatible payload was designed, manufactured, and flown on the BEXUS30 stratospheric balloon. The prototype payload – BAMMsat (Biology, Astrobiology, Medicine, and Materials Science on satellite) – is a modular CubeSat-compatible miniaturised laboratory termed a bioCubeSat. The core flight objective was to perform technology demonstration of the bioCubeSat technology, demonstrating capability to perform experiments in space, and to understand system performance and identify future requirements. The mission aimed to validate pre-flight, flight, and post-flight operations, with a focus on biological and autonomous operations and the novel payload hardware. C. elegans samples were flown in the payload. The mission was partially successful, as the BAMMsat systems and autonomous software operated successfully despite challenging conditions and a large volume of payload performance data was collected; however there were issues maintaining the viability of the samples during flight and microfluidic system issues that impeded sample containment and imaging operations. Post-flight analysis has been performed, the root causes of the issues identified, and upgraded novel payload hardware is currently being developed and tested.
Nanospace and open-source tools for CubeSat preliminary design: review and pedagogical use-case
Authors: Gateau Thibault , Salas Cordero Sophia , Puech Jérôme , Vingerhoeds Rob
Published: July 2022

This paper aims to facilitate getting acquainted with CubeSat preliminary design by presenting a review of open-source tools commonly used during project first steps, and a concrete example. The light but realistic preliminary design framework is based on a real 3U CubeSat use-case, the CREME project, relying on Nanospace and a package of selected Open-Source tools. This example should allow students and non-related field experts to fully grasp the concepts needed to achieve the basics of a typical preliminary design.
The effect of spaceflight on the otolith-mediated ocular counter-roll
Authors: Schoenmaekers Catho , De Laet Chloë , Kornilova Ludmila , Glukhikh Dmitrii , Moore Steven , MacDougall Hamish , Naumov Ivan , Fransen Erik , Wille Leander , Jillings Steven , Wuyts Floris L.
Published: July 2022

The otoliths of the vestibular system are seen as the primary gravitational sensors and are responsible for a compensatory eye torsion called the ocular counter-roll (OCR). The OCR ensures gaze stabilization and is sensitive to a lateral head roll with respect to gravity and the Gravito-Inertial Acceleration (GIA) vector during e.g., centrifugation. This otolith-mediated reflex will make sure you will still be able to maintain gaze stabilization and postural stability when making sharp turns during locomotion. To measure the effect of prolonged spaceflight on the otoliths, we measured the OCR induced by off-axis centrifugation in a group of 27 cosmonauts before and after their 6-month space mission to the International Space Station (ISS). We observed a significant decrease in OCR early post-flight, with first- time flyers being more strongly affected compared to frequent or experienced flyers. Our results strongly suggest that experienced space crew have acquired the ability to adapt faster after G-transitions and should therefore be sent for more challenging space missions, e.g., Moon or Mars, because they are noticeably less affected by microgravity regarding their vestibular system.