Colorado State Students
Engineering students launch successful payloads to the edge of outer space
Published August 2006
Six Colorado State University undergraduate engineering students spent the summer designing, building and testing two unique, simulated spacecraft and met with NASA engineers to share their research results.
From left to right are CSU undergraduate engineering students participating in the DemoSat program: Jonathan Cox, Derek Bonner, Ben Colvin, Kenny Darbonne, Ross MacGregor, Mike Neuberg. Not pictured is Nick Ellis.
Undergraduate students in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering, launched two payloads to the edge of outer space from eastern Colorado on July 29, 2006. Both payloads performed as expected, and the "DoOverRover," rebuilt from last year’s model, became the first successful rover in the history of NASA's Colorado Space Grant Consortium DemoSat program.
Starting in May, the following engineering students worked to build and prepare these simulated spacecraft that demonstrate actual NASA missions.
Mechanical Engineering
- Ross MacGregor
- Ben Colvin
- Nick Ellis
Electrical Engineering
- Kenneth Darbonne
- Michael Neuberg
- Derek Bonner
- Jon Cox
With the guidance of mechanical engineering faculty adviser Paul Wilbur, Colorado State undergraduates joined students from other Colorado schools including the University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, Metropolitan State College, Colorado School of Mines, and Fort Lewis College, to launch their satellites from a weather balloon in Genoa, Colo. in July.
Weather balloon used to launch two simulated spacecraft designed and built by Colorado State engineering students.
Both of Colorado State’s payloads climbed to altitudes higher than 100,000 feet above sea level. Later the same day, both payloads were recovered from private property near Deer Trail, Colo.
LAPSAT sound and panoramic photographic experiments
The first payload, named LAPSAT, or Location, Acoustic, Photography Satellite, surveyed landing sites with panoramic photography, performed sound analysis experiments, and tracked its location via GPS technology. The payload was tracked and logged by a GPS circuit also built by the team of Colorado State engineering students.
Location data points from the experiments were loaded into Google Earth to create a three dimensional map of the flight. Sound analysis was done by comparing the changes to a pre-recorded sound clip as the pressure and temperature change with altitude. The panoramic photography was done by six individual digital cameras and merged together after recovery using computer software.
LAPSAT was built from foam and carbon-fiber composite.
"DoOverRover" has three deployable legs
The second payload named DoOverRover was a rebuild from last year’s rover. The team utilized last year’s chassis while designing all new electronics. Its mission was to deploy and record its exploration of the landing site by taking pictures.
The rover utilized a pressure sensor, accelerometer and a timer in order to make sure it was on the ground and ready to begin the exploration routine. The rover was built out of a carbon fiber chassis with three deployable legs powered by servo motors.
Almost 40 years of pivotal NASA research and testing
"We are very pleased with the great success of this Colorado State team that designed, built and tested these unique simulated spacecraft."
--Professor Paul Wilbur
"We are very pleased with the great success of this Colorado State team that designed, built and tested these unique simulated spacecraft," Wilbur said.
Professor Wilbur's research applies broad beam ion sources to applications such as spacecraft propulsion. For almost 40 years, Wilbur and the CSU Electric Propulsion and Plasma Engineering Laboratory, have been setting the pace to ensure realization of NASA’s ion propulsion mission objectives and providing pivotal research, development and testing.
Five of the Colorado State student team members presented their summer research results to NASA engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., in early August, gaining additional real world experience and training.
The students were supported this summer by Colorado Space Grant Internships awarded in April 2006, and other project costs were also funded through the Colorado Space Grant from NASA. Colorado State has received funding to participate in the NASA DemoSat program every year for the past four years.
