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ANNUAL NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMFEBRUARY 2017O L O R A D OO M M U N I C A T O RRobotics Challenge Turns 10!Providing aninclusive communityof Colorado studentswith research &hands-onexperiences toprepare them for ournation’s future spaceprograms andsupporting industry.INSIDE:Symposium3Comm College Rocket4Affiliate UpdatesTypically, snow melt runoff from the nearby Sangre de Cristo mountainrange provides interesting obstacles for course set-up at the annual COSGCColorado Robotics Challenge at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Thisyear, Mother Nature contributed to our 10th anniversary celebration withblowing snow (lots of it) and freezing temperatures. Nevertheless, students,faculty, and robots made a great showing at the event. Students went theextra mile - designing covers for their robots at the last minute to protectelectronics from the added extreme temperature, wind, and precipitationchallenges. Teams that could not make it as a result of the weather, wereable to participate by submitting videos of their robots tackling sandyterrain. Here’s to another 10 years and beyond!6 - 14Total Solar Eclipse15Antarctic Adventure15Current Student Focus16Alumni Spotlight20COSGC Affiliate Directors 22COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 2COLORADO SPACE GRANTAFFILIATESDirector’s CornerDirector’sCornerAdams State University (ASU)George SellmanAims Community College(AiCC)Lee McMainsArapahoe Community College(ArCC)Jennifer JonesColorado Mesa University(CMU)Warren MacEvoyKarl CastletonColorado School of Mines(CSM)Angel Abbud-MadridColorado State University (CSU)Azer YalinColorado State UniversityPueblo (CSU-Pueblo)Jude DePalmaCommunity College of Aurora(CCA)Victor AndersenCommunity College of Denver(CCD)Joel ThompsonFort Lewis College (FLC)Charlie HakesOtero Junior College (OJC)Joel GrayPikes Peak Community College(PPCC)Rob GilchristPueblo Community College(PCC)Joey MathewsRed Rocks Community College(RRCC)Barbra SobhaniSpace FoundationBryan DeBatesTrinidad State Junior College(TSJC)Cindy ClementsUniversity of Colorado Boulder(CU)Brian SandersUniversity of ColoradoColorado Springs (UCCS)Steve TragesserUniversity of NorthernColorado (UNC)Matt SemakWestern State ColoradoUniversity (WSCU)Suzanne TaylorGreetings from Boulder, Colorado. I amstanding at my desk, yes I have a stand updesk, writing this potentially award winningDirector’s Corner. I just finished reading thelatest Colorado Communicator – COSGC’smost awesome newsletter – and was blownaway.I know I am bit biased but I think we havethe best Space Grant program in the SolarSystem. I know there are 51 other SpaceGrant programs around the country that arealso very good but I am going to be bold andclaim the title and if anyone wants to disputemy claim, I ask them to kindly read thefollowing 22 pages first.If that is notconvincing enough, I will send you our 489 page expanded edition forfurther consideration.Our students, and the affiliate directors, faculty, and community partnerswho mentor them are incredible. This newsletter provides a selected set ofthe stories from 2016 to highlight the impact COSGC has on the universe.Their stories and accomplishments inspire me.I want to take a moment to introduce our newest staff member – LizCoelho. Many of you may have heard of Liz because she was our affiliatedirector at Pikes Peak Community College for the past 8 years. She is nowCOSGC’s Academic Coordinator and we are all looking forward to herperspective and contributions. And while I’m at it, I want to give a shoutout to Brian Sanders, COSGC’s Deputy Director and Bernadette GarciaGalvez, our Associate Director (and creator of this newsletter). Withoutthem none of what you read here would be possible and I am honored towork with them each day to make the world spaceier.Well it’s time to close this edition of the Director’s Corner. You arelikely too excited about reading the coming pages that you are struggling tomaintain focus as you continue to read my excellent prose. Before you go,please know that I also appreciate you because if you are reading this, youare likely connected to our Colorado Space Grant family somehow.Whether as a former student or mentor or past/current contributor; you areeither an outcome of and/or a believer in the program, or perhaps you’reone of many professionals within the state, or around the country, whocollaborate with us and/or take care of the administrative processes thatkeep our program strong for all of you, I am grateful.Onward The COSGC family at the 2016 Annual Meeting on the WSCU campus in Gunnison, COCOLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 32016 Undergraduate Space Research SymposiumCOSGC’s annual Undergraduate Space Research Symposium was heldApril 23, 2016. Students from COSGC institutions across the statepresented research papers to panels of industry engineers and scientists.Industry partners also volunteered their time to read and judge studentpapers prior to the presentations. Students competed for cash prizessponsored by local aerospace companies and Space Grant alumni.Paper/Presentation Winners:Grand Prize: High Elevation Light Intensity Observation System V(HELIOS V) - D.Beatty, H.Flaherty, R.Kloetzel, V.NystromSession Winners:R-Log: A Low-Cost Low-Power Solution for Data Logging on PayloadMissions - R.BelterPerforming Material Science Research in Microgravity - K.Kates, T.Joy, A.Olson, A.ZimmererDesign of an Extensible Telemetry and Command Architecture for Small Satellites - D.Beatty, B.Hogan,C.MaywoodPoster Winners:3D Printed Polymers in Near Space Conditions - Melissa Breathwaite, Shelby RyanMars Explorer (MrX) - Kelli Demny, Jiaxin Zhao, Nicholas Pepping, Igor Ryzhkov, Kevin BennettRobotics Challenge: Design and Fabrication - Cody HelmsChris Koehler Receives NASA Achievement MedalColorado Space Grant Consortium Director, Chris Koehler, wasawarded a NASA Exceptional Public Achievement Medal duringthe 2016 Agency Honor Awards in Washington, DC on September14, 2016. At the ceremony, NASA presented the highest honors itbestows on its workforce with the intention of highlighting thedistinguished contributions of the honorees. In addition to beinghonored personally for his efforts, Chris was also a member of theteam that was honored with the Group Achievement Award fordevelopment of the RockOn and RockSat-X programs. In additionto Chris, the team included engineers at NASA’s Wallops FlightFacility, Virginia Space Grant Director, Mary Sandy, andUniversity of Colorado and COSGC alumni Riley Pack (LGSInnovations), Shawn Carroll (Digital Globe), David Ferguson(SpaceX), Eric Pahlke (First RF), and Lee Jasper (Jet PropulsionLaboratory). Featured right is Chris at the award ceremonypictured with Joyce Winterton, Senior Advisor for Education andLeadership Development at Wallops Flight Facility.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 4Community College Sounding Rocket PayloadSometimes all the necessary components come together just at the righttime to enable something truly spectacular. Such is the story of theCommunity College of Colorado (CC of CO) sounding rocket project.COSGC has been fortunate to connect with remarkable educators atColorado community college institutions. Three such individuals lead theprograms at Community College of Aurora (CCA - Victor Andersen),Arapahoe Community College (ACC - Jennifer Jones) , and Red RocksCommunity College (RRCC - Barbra Sobhani) as Space Grant affiliatedirectors on their campuses. All three were facilitating multiple, robuststudent hands-on Space Grant projects on their campuses, when, in 2015,the opportunity to apply for additional Space Grant funds to establish newand/or expanded programs came about through theCommunity College and Technical College grantopportunity. In addition to providing supplementalfunds for exceptional COSGC campuses, the awardsponsored 13 COSGC community college studentsto attend the RockOn Workshop.Students from each institution participated in theRockOn Workshop at NASA’s Wallops FlightFacility, where they built, integrated, and launchedsimple payloads.At the workshop, they alsoattended the Launch Readiness Review of theCC of CO students deliver the completed payload.RockSat-C payloads that were launching on thesame rocket at their RockOn payloads. Theywere able to hear the experiences of studentsfrom around the country.Once back in Colorado, the work began. Acombined project between multiple COSGCcampuses had not previously been attempted, sothere was no foundation to help implement theproject.Affiliate directors and supportingfaculty at the institutions would be building theframework as the project progressed.With many students from multiple institutionsinvolved, it was challenging to choose just oneexperiment. The team decided to allow oneexperiment per institution, and so developedthree separate experiments that flew in a singlepayload. The CC of CO payload explored: theviability of carbon fiber as radiation shielding,the structural integrity of multiple types of DNACOLORADO COMMUNICATOR RockSat-C 2016 payloads integrated and ready forlaunch!spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 5subjected to the extreme stresses ofthe rocket launch, and the viability ofan inexpensive, custom-built RICHdetector for use in particleastrophysics research observing.Students and faculty experienced thechallenges of keeping up with thestrict schedule of the RockSat-CCC of CO students at the launch site at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. program, while managing multiplesubsystem teams comprisedof students from threedifferent campuses. Design,build, testing, and regularreviews with the RockSat-Cmanager challenged thestudents in ways they hadnot previously experienced.A team of students fromeach campus delivered thepayload on-time andparticipated in finalintegration, testing andlaunch on June 23, 2016.Experiments worked as theyhad hoped, and the teamsubmitted their final reportoutlining the results.Launch of the 2016 RockOn! Workshop and RockSat-C Payloads.Jamie & Thomas at the APSConference.There were times during the project when both students andfaculty alike wondered if their expectations had been unreasonable if they had attempted too much. Many were convinced that therewould definitely not be a repeat of the endeavor. However, after aserious debrief and review of outcomes of the project, affiliatedirectors on each campus have secured another round ofsupplemental grant funds to do CC of CO’s 2nd payload - planningfor launch in June 2018. The effort has created a framework andlessons learned for the entire COSGC program that will informfuture, innovative collaborations between campuses. In addition,the experience has been shared at conferences by both faculty andstudents. Students, Jamie Principato (ACC) and Thomas Horning(CCA), were invited to present their work at the Joint Meeting ofthe Four Corners and Texas Sections of the American PhysicalSociety in Las Cruces, NM.Their paper and presentation“Prototyping of a Durable and Inexpensive RICH Detector” washonored with “Best Student Talk” at the conference. spacegrant.colorado.eduCOLORADO COMMUNICATOR
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 6Affiliate UpdatesWestern State Colorado University (WSCU) Space Grantcontinues to engage in astronomical observations - specificallyfocusing on light curves of exoplanets. This effort includesstudents working with faculty to troubleshoot and repair telescope issues. This was the first year,WSCU Space Grant facilitated a freshman orientation class focused on building high altitude balloonpayloads. The result was 2 payloads that launched on the November DemoSat flight. WSCU SpaceGrant continues to facilitate a team for the Colorado Robotics Challenge. Their team braved theweather and made a great showing at the 10th annual Challenge.Space Grant at University of Northern Colorado facilitates variousstudent projects including autonomous robot projects, high altitudeballoon payloads, and theoretical physics research. UNC DemoSatteams explored high altitude radiation effects on carbon nanotubes,DNA, and quantum dots; exploring radiation flux as a function ofaltitude; and testing of a communication system for a possiblesounding rocket payload. The UNC robotics teams built a robot forthe COSGC Robotics Challenge in addition to completing thedevelopment of various sensors for robotics applications and designinga quadcopter. Physics research included an examination of balance.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 7University of Colorado at Colorado Springs(UCCS) Space Grant helped connect sevenCOSGC transfer students with faculty workingon hands-on projects including development of atestbed for lithium ion battery controls research; development of asystem to track joint locations for biomedical studies; datacollection for a human movement study; research in the UCCSphysics department; and effect of sunlight on human cells. UCCSSpace Grant students made significant improvements to themotion capture system and completed work on a wheelchairstabilization system for a U.S. Paralympic athlete.Trinidad State Junior College (TSJC) Space Grant continued to providemultiple STEM opportunities for both post-secondary, and concurrentlyenrolled high school students in the local community. The TSJCrobotics team designed advanced autonomy capabilities intheir Robotics Challenge submission called SABLE inorder to satisfy an extended challenge at the 10-yearanniversary event.Their success at this challengeencouraged the team to take on a more sophisticated robotdesign which they hope to eventually summit to NASA’sRoboOps Challenge.TSJC Space Grant studentsparticipated in the RockOn Workshop at NASA’s WallopsSpace Flight Facility and launched a high altitudescientific payload with the summer 2016 COSGCDemoSat program. TSJC faculty and supporting staff andcommunity members facilitated additional coursesincluding 3D Printing and Design and Intro to Electronics.TSJC continues to enrich the partnership with ParallaxInc., which has provided software,electronics, and mentorship tostudent project teams. As arecruitment tool, TSJC Space Grantstudents developed a robotics floatfor a local community parade whichbrings visibility to TSJC, the SpaceGrant program, and the roboticsprojects.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 8Space Grant at University ofColorado at Boulder (CU) sponsoredvarious student projects includingthe continuation of the PolarCubecubesat mission. The PolarCubeteam completed intense testing of theMini-Rad sensor (PolarCube’s main science sensor)on a flight over the Antarctic in a DC-8 aircraft incollaboration with Operation Ice Bridge mission - part of NASA’sCryosphere program (see page 15 for more details). Other projectsincluded a follow-on to a CU senior design project called DeltaVSatexploring propulsion for cubesat payloads; a long-duration balloonpayload called HELIOS V which completed solar observations duringflight in August 2016; teaching of the Gateway to Space class in thefall and spring semesters for over 120 CU students (launching 18balloon payloads); continuation of development of a mobile S-bandground station and the ground station capabilities within the CUSpace Grant facility on the CU main campus; facilitation ofworkshops for CU engineering student societies and a high altitudeballoon payload project with society students; completion of aresearch project in collaboration with the National Snow and Ice DataCenter developing a low-cost sensor to record current andtemperature near ocean ice/glacier boundaries; and continuation ofthe EduSourcing program placing students in internships with DigitalGlobe and Lockheed Martin. In addition, the COSGC lead institutioncollaborated with Montana Space Grant Consortium to help developand facilitate workshops as part of the national Space Grant solareclipse ballooning project. CU Space Grant students served as projectmanagers for the national RockSat-C and RockSat-X sounding rocketprograms in collaboration withNASA Wallops Flight Facility.Finally, CU Space Grant isparticipating in the developmentof a Space Minor on the CUcampus that will be available tostudents of any major as part ofthe CU Chancellor ’s GrandChallenge.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 9The Space Foundation facilitated a 3D printing course for in-service teachers.Participants learned to use CAD and engaged in an astronaut tool designchallenge. In addition, Space Foundation education specialists participated inprofessional development programs to inform development of space-focusedcourses for pre- and in-service educators.Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) Space Grant facilitated variousstudent projects to engage RRCC students in authentic hands-onexperiences. These included two high altitude scientific balloon payloadsand a team that designed and demonstrated an autonomous robot at the2016 COSGC Colorado Robotics Challenge. RRCC Space Grant wasone of the 3 COSGC community colleges that supported students working on a combined soundingrocket payload that launched in June 2016 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. RRCC hosted itsfirst statewide robotics workshop and participated in Aerospace Day at the Capital. The RRCCSpace Grant program joined the COSGC team participating in thenationwide 2017 solar eclipse ballooning effort and sent a student to thehow-to workshop in Montana. Faculty attended national conferences totalk about the effectiveness of Space Grant student projects on theRRCC campus. Five RRCCstudents were awardedtransfer scholarships toCOSGC 4-year institutionsthrough COSGC’s transferprogram.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 10Pueblo Community College (PCC) Space Grant facilitatedmultiple projects including autonomous robots demonstrated atthe Robotics Challenge and a two high altitude scientificballoon payloads. PCC Space Grant hosted a January 2016balloon payload workshop for student teams from COSGC institutions across the state. The programsprototyped a collaboration with the Women in STEM President’s Leadership Program to providementors and group leaders for student projects. In addition, the PCC STEM Center continues toenhance student experiences by adding hands-on capabilities including 3D printing.The Space Grant program at Pikes Peak Community College facilitated twohigh altitude balloon payload missions as part of the statewide DemoSatprogram. PPCC students continue to participate in the NASA CommunityCollege Aerospace Scholars program with two students placed: Britnee Staheli& Jack Hetherington. Two students received transfer scholarships to COSGC4-year institutions through COSGC’s transfer program and five studentsreceived awards to continue their PPCC degree programs.Otero Junior College (OJC) Space Grant facilitated both a scientific high altitudeballoon payload and an autonomous robot for the COSGC Colorado RoboticsChallenge.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 11Space Grant at Fort Lewis College (FLC)sponsored student teams that designed, built, andlaunched balloon payloads for both academic yearand summer semesters. FLC Space Grant studentsalso designed and built robots and attended the2016 Colorado Robotics Challenge. FLC SpaceGrant also hosted robotics workshop to providebasic skills and experience with the use ofArduinos to develop autonomous robots. Inaddition, students worked with faculty on astronomy researchutilizing the local observatory and taking full advantage of the darkskies of Durango, CO. FLC Space Grant students also helpmaintain the observatory.Students at the Space Grant program atColorado State University - Pueblo (CSUPueblo) designed, built, tested and flew ahigh altitude scientific balloon payload withthe statewide DemoSat program. CSUPueblo Space Grant students also developedautonomous robot that were tested in sandycondition in Pueblo, but were not able todemonstrate their design at the 2016Robotics Challenge as a result of theextreme weather. Students also participatedin a faculty research project designing a mechanism to testresistance bands.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 12Space Grant at ColoradoState University - FortCollins (CSU) facilitatedvarious projects for CSUundergraduate and graduate students.Projectsincluded summer internships where students built 2high altitude scientific balloon payloads. A team ofinterns also completed research on laser plasmastudies in a CSU faculty laboratory. Project teamsalso included 3 autonomous robots that were demonstrated at the 2016 Colorado Robotics Challenge, aswell as a senior design team that built a submission for the 10th annual Intercollegiate RocketEngineering Competition (IREC). The team won an award for design innovation at the IREC and wasalso honored as a top project at the CSU E-days events.The Space Grant program at the Colorado School of Mines had many student successes this year. ACSM Space Grant team placed 3rd in presentation and 14th overall among 45 participating teams atthe NASA Robotic Mining Competition. In addition, the CSM AISES team won1st place at the First Nations Launch Competition.CSM Space Grant alsocontinues to facilitate high altitude scientific balloon payload projects in therequired projects design courses and supports student teams designingautonomous robots for the Colorado Robotics Challenge.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 13Space Grant at Colorado MesaUniversity (CMU) continues tofacilitate exciting roboticsopportunities for CMU students. Theirrobotics project that competed at the DARPA Robotics ChallengeFinals was mentioned in NOVA’s Rise of the Robots. Their CogBurn robot, was highlighted at the Colorado Innovation NetworkConference. Students and faculty are leveraging the excitement ofrobotics to recruit students into STEM disciplines.Studentssupport community STEM effortsas mentors for FIRST Robotics and First Lego League teams. Studentsalso design and facilitate activities at the annual CMU MathExtravaganza. The CMU team has begun to explore the use of roboticsin clothing design as a possible way to engage even more young womenin the excitement of computer science and mathematics.Space Grant at Community College of Denver (CCD) continues to have an active balloon payloadprogram that flew multiple payloads in both academic semesters. Ten CCD students built autonomousrobots for the 2016 Colorado Robotics Challenge. CCD Space Grant students engage the widercommunity by facilitating activities for middle school students in an annualRocket Day - where they work with students on rocket-themed activities. TwoCCD students were awarded COSGC community college scholarships.Space Grant at Community College ofAurora (CCA) is continuing to teach theExperimental Design Course, as part of afocused program to provide preengineering coursework and experiences to CCA students, to enablethem to be successful as they transfer to 4-year institutions. InExperimental Design, students design, build, and launch high altitudeballoon payloads. Students are introduced to the program through theData Analysis course which provides skills students can put into use inExperimental Design. CCA Space Grant facilitated its first intro toengineering workshop and affiliated robotics course. Robotics coursestudents demonstrated their autonomous robots at the Colorado Roboticschallenge. Four CCA Space Grant students received scholarships as theytransferred to COSGC 4-yearinstitutions.CCA Space Grantwas one of the three COSGCcommunity college campuses thatparticipated in the combinedsounding rocket payload and isone of the four COSGC campusesparticipating in the nationwide2017 Solar Eclipse High AltitudeBallooning program.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 14Arapahoe Community College (ACC) Space Grant isproviding various projects that engage ACC studentsin authentic hands-on space focused experiences.These include multiple high altitude scientificballoon payloads and autonomous robotics projectsthat are demonstrated at the Colorado Robotics Challenge. ACCSpace Grant was one of the three COSGC community collegeprograms that comprised the combined sounding rocket payload thatlaunched in June of 2016. In addition, ACC Space Grant signed onto be one of 4 COSGCinstitutions participating in thenationwide 2017 Solar EclipseBallooning program.ACCstudent, Wesley Perkins, is theCOSGC solar eclipse corepayload program manager andis also providing tech supportfor the national effort.The Space Grant program at Aims Community College (Aims)Space Grant is part of the Applied and EnvironmentalTechnologies program. Aims students participate in the statewideDemoSat program - building high altitude balloon payloads.Teams have included post-secondary students, as well as studentswho are concurrently enrolled - earning theirhigh school diploma while also earning creditstoward an associates degree at Aims.Adams State University (ASU) Space Grant continues to facilitatea robust robotics program for students enrolled at ASU, which hasalso spread out to the surrounding community. The ASU RoboticsSociety welcomes people of all ages whocan work with ASU students and learnthe basics of robotics and then take theirnew found skills into many directionswith student mentors. Of course manystudents build robots that are demonstrated at the Colorado RoboticsChallenge. ASU students also help facilitate STEM Saturday Workshops.ASU hosts the Challenge each year, as COSGC students from around thestate travel to Alamosa and the ASU campus forChallenge activities. ASU Space Grant is currentlyworking to expand robotics applications into moredisciplines including biology, geography and spaceapplications.COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 152017 Solar Eclipse High Altitude BallooningCOSGC is gearing up for the first total solar eclipse viewable over the U.S. in 38years by participating in the national Solar Eclipse Ballooning Projectdeveloped by Montana Space Grant with support from NASA’s ScienceMission Directorate, Space Grant College and Fellowship Program and theBalloon Program Office (along with many other industry partners). COSGCDirector, Chris Koehler, helped develop and facilitate 2 workshops in 2016that taught participants how to build the common payload and how todevelop high altitude balloon launch capabilities to fly the payloads in orderto participate in day-of streaming from the stratosphere. Students from fourCOSGC institutions (ACC, CCA, RRCC, and UNC) participated in the Julyworkshop and students from CU supported both workshops as helpers. Student teams at each campushave been developing experiments that will fly during the eclipse in the path of totality from a controlledlaunch area at Camp Guernsey, Wyoming. Students have beentesting payload systems during DemoSat flights, as theycontinue to improve their experiments in preparation foreclipse day. The first practice launch took place on August 21,2016. The launch included only the Core Payload. A secondpractice launch is scheduled for May 13, 2017 giving teams afinal chance to test their payloads. COSGC’s eclipse day-ofand test launches are provided by Edge of Space Sciences.(above) COSGC students at the Montana workshop perform ground station and payload communication/tracking testing;(below) a group shot of the 130 participants at the July 2016 Workshop.Antarctic AdventureThe PolarCube team completed an amazing testingopportunity on board a NASA aircraft. The MiniRadsensor was tested over the Antarctic on board the NASADC-8 N817NA aircraft as part of Operation Ice Bridge.The opportunity was unexpected and sudden challenging the team to integrate a cubesat basedsatellite sensor in only 6-weeks. In collaboration withDave Gallaher (National Snow and Ice Data Center) andDr. Al Gaseiwski (CU Center for EnvironmentalTechnology), students frantically honed the experimentand developed electronics to make the test possible. Thedata is currently being analyzed. Initial review of the data has been exciting for the PolarCube teamand their science mentors.More pictures on page 19COLORADO COMMUNICATOR spacegrant.colorado.edu
NEWSLETTER OF THE COLORADO SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUMPAGE 16Student FocusThis past year, COSGC engaged 489 Colorado students in space hardware missions, classes, and researchprojects, about which you have read on the preceding pages. Introducing them all to our readers would take anewsletter all its own (an extremely thick one). Instead, we present a sample to give our readers an idea of thehigh caliber of students that are a part of the Colorado Space Grant family, the projects they are working on, andtheir plans for the future.Wesley Perkins is a second year student at Arapahoe CommunityCollege (ACC) working toward an associate of science degree. Heis currently the project manager for the COSGC Solar Eclipseprogram in addition to co-leading both high altitude balloon payloadand autonomous robotics projects at ACC. Previously, Wesley hasbeen part of ACC balloon payload and robotics teams. He also wason the three-campus team that designed, built, and launched asounding rocket payload at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in June2016. Additio
University of Colorado Boulder (CU) Brian Sanders University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) Steve Tragesser University of Northern Colorado (UNC) Matt Semak Western State Colorado University (WSCU) Suzanne Taylor Greetings from Boulder, Colorado. I am standing at my desk, yes I have a stand up desk, writing this potentially award winning
