WVU engineering students lead the launch at this summer's satellite mission program

A team of mechanical and aerospace undergraduates and faculty represented Statler College and West Virginia University at the second University Nanosatellite Program internship this summer (Photo supplied).

Launching a satellite into space takes a lot of planning. From development to operations to Federal Communications Commission regulations, successful missions go through extensive design and test phases before anything leaves the ground. Mechanical and aerospace engineering students Isabella Hart, Sam Blair and Evie Harper got hands-on experience this summer through the University Nanosatellite Program in New Mexico, a collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory and NASA. 

Story by Kaley LaQuea
Photos supplied

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

West Virginia University was one of eight universities chosen for the second Mission Concept Program held this year. Principal investigator and faculty advisor Andrew Rhodes, Hart, Blair and Harper will attend the 38th annual Small Satellite Conference held Aug. 3-8 at Utah State University. Supported by the West Virginia Small Satellite Center, the team hopes to continue research and development of the project — using cameras to detect and track small space debris.

“What the general public sees is everything post-launch. They get to see the launch vehicle leave the ground, the fantastic plumes, the rocket launch day mission streams on YouTube from SpaceX or NASA, the pictures that Hubble takes,” said Rhodes, teaching assistant professor in the mechanical, materials and aerospace engineering department. “That's what the public gets to see. But there's an immense amount of work that comes before that, and the students here are learning how to start at the ground and build all the way up to what the public sees. They're learning how to define the mission: what are the building blocks? What are the technical requirements? What is the mission going to accomplish? What are the objectives? How do you accomplish those objectives?”

For Blair, getting hands-on experience during the program has been a critical aspect of building both technical knowledge and the confidence to iterate.

“Growing up, you see all these movies of people going to space and it seems so simple,” Blair said. “There's so much area up there that you can go to, but in actuality it's so complicated. Part of it is getting people in undergrad to realize that. But the other aspect is showing that ‘OK, we’re university students but we can still do this, we can still aid. You don't have to be some massive company to be able to help in this mission. Every little bit counts and we wanna be that little bit, you know?”

One small satellite mission could have teams of aerospace, systems, mechanical and civil engineers along with computer scientists and communications professionals, all working together for a successful launch. Over the course of two months, students from the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources learned about different subsystems, expanded their technical knowledge and collaborated with professionals in a wide range of disciplines.

“Besides the technical knowledge, getting to work with lots of different types of people has been my favorite part,” Hart said. “Cross-team collaboration, being able to work with a variety of people from industry and other students and getting diverse perspectives on different issues — especially that pertain to our mission — has been really helpful.”

Hart highlighted the strong communication skills the team has cultivated with the help of WVU’s programs to be able to share their research.

Creating more gender diversity in STEM is a priority for Harper and Hart — they hope to lead by example and inspire future generations of girls and young women to pursue academic and career pathways in aerospace engineering.

“Being from West Virginia and attending WVU, I never had someone close to me like that to look up to, so I hope I can inspire future generations and see women fill these leadership positions,” Hart said. “Women can send things to space too, and I wanna provide that role model aspect to the younger generation.”

Harper, who’s Morgantown born and raised, has also taken pride in representing women in STEM as well as WVU’s aerospace program and the Mountain State. 

“It feels nice to be able to say we've got strong women in this field who can handle being the leaders of this foundational program,” Harper said. “I also think it's a great opportunity for us to get our name out, especially when we're this far away from home. It's a really great way to say ‘Hey, we exist and we're pretty good at what we do.’ I think it's been good for awareness of what we’re capable of.”

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