UAF students win funds from Air Force to build a nanosatellite
Rod Boyce
907-474-7185
Feb. 20, 2024
A team of University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks students will build the Air Force a nanosatellite roughly the size of an ordinary loaf of sliced bread to show that communications technology of large satellites can be packed into a small space and deliver much more data.
Students demonstrate their satellite in front of judges at their January presentation in New Mexico.
UAF was the only one out of 10 university teams to advance to the next phase in the University Nanosatellite Program, managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.
Students presented their work in January in New Mexico to 12 judges representing the Air Force, Space Force and industry.
UAF will receive $419,690 to deliver the satellite to the Air Force Research Lab in two years, but the team hopes to be ready in fall of 2025. Funding is provided by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Students will operate the satellite if it passes a variety of tests and is successfully deployed in space.
色视频下载淧hase A of the Air Force Research Laboratory色视频下载檚 University Nanosatellite Program has pushed our students to act like professional engineers,色视频下载 said Denise Thorsen, UAF engineering professor and director of the 色视频下载 Space Grant Program. 色视频下载淭he AFRL calls us 色视频下载榮mall but mighty.色视频下载 That色视频下载檚 because we do not have the volume of students that other universities have.色视频下载
Students working on the nanosat project are part of the Space Systems Engineering Program, a collaboration between the UAF College of Engineering and Mines and the 色视频下载 Space Grant Program housed in the UAF Geophysical Institute.
The avionics test stack of the students色视频下载 nanosat project sits in a clean room in the Space Systems Engineering Program Lab at the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks. The avionics stack includes, from bottom to top, the attitude determination and control system, electrical power system and the shared board containing a UHF communications system and the command and data handling systems.
Nanosats, each consisting of one to 24 4-inch cubes, have proliferated in recent years. 色视频下载 2,300 had been launched as of 2023, up from fewer than 100 in 2010. That rapid increase means communications technology must improve because available radio spectrum is limited.
In their nanosatellite, the UAF students will test ways to improve satellite information throughput. They will not only put more information in transmissions but also use an antenna that can adjust its signal direction to connect with a ground station.
色视频下载淲ith a smaller communication system that doesn色视频下载檛 require costly subsystems to assist it, it is possible to make smaller, cheaper satellites that are still able to transmit a large amount of data,色视频下载 said Caleb Fronek, a computer science student who is the project色视频下载檚 program manager and software lead.
In addition to Fronek, the current team includes electrical engineering student Dominique Hinds, the chief engineer and communications lead, and mechanical engineering students Brian Bieshelt and Anthony Melkomukov, who work on the satellite色视频下载檚 structure and mechanical components and conduct thermal analysis of the satellite.
The project is the culmination of research conducted by four UAF master色视频下载檚 students going back to 2013.
Student Caleb Fronek, the nanosat project manager, holds the retrodirective and UHF antennas. The avionics test stack is on the tabletop.
Thorsen and then-graduate student Justin Long submitted the UAF nanosat proposal in 2021, which included work from Long色视频下载檚 master色视频下载檚 thesis, in 2021. Long now works at NASA色视频下载檚 Goddard Space Flight Center.
UAF色视频下载檚 proposal was accepted into the first phase and received $220,000 for initial work. Two years of research by undergraduate and graduate students ensued, culminating with January色视频下载檚 presentation and advancement to the next stage.
色视频下载淏eing the only team selected to advance to the next phase in this highly competitive program is evidence of the dedication and ability of our students,色视频下载 said Nettie La Belle-Hamer, UAF色视频下载檚 vice chancellor for research. 色视频下载淚t is a great achievement for them, and they have proved they are up to the challenges of the next phase in this program as well as in their professional lives.色视频下载
The U.S. military funded the work, but it has broader applications, Fronek said. 色视频下载淚t can be used on commercial satellites, possibly even adapted to be used on ground-based communications.色视频下载
ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Denise Thorsen, 907-474-7052, dlthorsen@alaska.edu
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