Education is figuring out which half is which. When in doubt, document. The schedule you develop will seem like a complete work of fiction up until the moment your customer fires you for not meeting it. Space is a completely unforgiving environment. Your contributions Project-related tasks converge.
Managers attempt to design the system, and designers attempt to manage the project.
A small satellite inherently limits the amount of trouble you can cause. Never show your working prototype to the management. It imay become tomorrows press announcement of the finished project. The first 90 percent of the project takes 90 percent of the alloted time. The last 10 percent takes the other 90 percent.