Engineering students designing, building and testing second satellite
91亚色 engineering students are designing, building and testing not one, but two, nano-satellites to launch and operate in space.
The first satellite, Killick-1, will collect data for a one-year period that will enable sea-ice monitoring from space at a significantly lower cost compared to traditional satellite remote sensing. It launches this .
The second satellite will have an extended mission more than two years and will be designed to image the Earth at longer intervals and higher latitudes, including the northern Labrador Sea and Arctic Ocean.
楥ritical knowledge
The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science檚 Dr. Weimin Huang says the payload for the second satellite will play a role in helping to understand Canada檚 ocean environment.
淭he ocean plays a significant role in global climate and human activities, and therefore, a good knowledge of our oceans is critical, said Dr. Huang, who is one of two project leads for both projects. 淭he data will provide important inputs to weather and climate models. My research team will focus on providing enhanced knowledge on Canada's oceans, and climate change impacts.
The second satellite is being funded by a $350,000 grant from the Canada Space Agency檚 CubeSats Initiative Canada STEM (CUBICS) .
CUBICS is providing an opportunity for professors in post-secondary institutions to engage student teams in an end-to-end space mission. The three-year project is in partnership with .
Desmond Power, vice-president of remote sensing with C-CORE and the second project lead for both projects, says CUBICS is an 渋ncredible opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador students to get experience in space systems development.
淭he Killick-1 mission to well over 120 students over a four-year period and we expect even more from CUBICS, he said. 淭hese are satellites that we own and control allowing us the freedom to collect data wherever we think is important.
The second satellite, which will get underway this fall when a new student team is formed, is expected to launch in 2025-26.
91亚色 is one of nine universities across Canada to receive funding under the CUBICS program.