The Portland State Aerospace Society (PSAS for short) is a student-led aerospace engineering group at Portland State University. Our group focuses on university and amateur rocketry. Moreover, some PSAS members are part of the OreSat group, which works with satellite technology. Our group has students that range in study, including: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Business, and many others. We at PSAS value innovation, curiosity, collaboration, perseverance, and exploration.
Who am i?
Hi. My name is Kathleen and I am in my senior year of my undergraduate degree studying for a Bachelor's of Science in Mathematics. I began work with the Portland State Aerospace Society three years ago and have since worked on a variety of aerospace engineering projects with them.
Namely, I have been a part of our satellite project, called OreSat. OreSat is a CubeSat, or a "cube satellite", a tissue-box sized satellite typically made by university students to teach the fundamentals of satellite science. Our little satellite will be launched into space by a SpaceX rocket and will orbit for around a year before burning up on re-entry. My part of the puzzle piece that is this project, is the orbital dynamics. I focus on and simulate the orbit of OreSat - as in, I simulate how our satellite moves through space: how high up it is, how much time in spends in the sun, how many times we can make contact, etc. While my background is in mathematics, I work entirely in Aerospace Engineering, it's my passion! |
Introducing oresat0
(Pronounced Ore-Sat-Zero) Pictured above is the actual satellite we have built. It will fly in early 2022 and will orbit earth for around a year, perhaps longer depending on the orbital environment. This project is entirely open-source, meaning that all of our designs are free to look at, to learn from and to take from. All we ask for is credit if you happen to use our designs or code!
orbital dynamics for dummies
Hello, yes, I am that dummy. I came into this project knowing nothing about orbital dynamics and nothing about satellites. I was under the impression that my life's work would be in the topic of Astrophysics, studying the formation of stars and planets. Instead, I found myself studying the motion of spacecraft!
There are many different kinds of orbits, each is dependent on the mission it is trying to complete! For instance, our project is just testing the subsystems of our satellite to make sure they don't get too hot or cold, and to make sure that our individual systems wake up and talk to each other properly! It is not the most advanced mission, those will be coming later for the Portland State Aerospace Society, we just want to make sure everything works the way it was designed! So then you may be asking yourself what is the work I actually produce? I provide my team with some information that tells us how we fly in space! I use a software called FreeFlyer from the company a.i. solutions, inc. They are a company based out of Lanham, MD and their sole focus is orbital dynamics for a variety of missions, including some big NASA missions! I use their software to simulate OreSat0's motion through space. |
This software takes into account our satellite's weight, size, physical orientation, and starting altitude (among many other parameters), and then simulates its travel through space! Given that our satellite is so small, and doesn't move very much by its own volition, the simulation part isn't the most complicated. But there were some main points to provide for my team, namely time spent in sun/shadow and contact times.
I have produced a general simulation of OreSat0 that informs my team of anything they deem to be necessary, including shiny videos for our social media accounts! Below are some examples of my work in FreeFlyer, you will see a close up video of our satellite circling the earth (bottom left) and a screenshot of a similar simulation showing the detail of OreSat (bottom left). You might have noticed the characteristic purple PCB boards in our screenshots - we imported the designs specifically for this simulation and these boards can be seen in detail above! OreSat0 launches in mid January, 2022 on a SpaceX rocket in Cape Canaveral, FL. We will be kicked out the door at around 500km in altitude and will likely orbit the earth for over a year! Wish us luck! |
Why does this project matter?
These projects matter because they teach us how to go about tackling difficult projects. Engineering, and especially aerospace engineering is filled with difficult projects. Engineering requires not only classical education, but hands-on work as well. The projects that the Portland State Aerospace Society has are meant to teach its volunteer students the ins and outs of engineering projects. Our satellite, OreSat0, is no different. It is a fully integrated system, and we require all sorts of people to work on it. Not only that, but we value the idea of the underdog and we have pretty little to work with, so innovation flourishes in our little group, helping to build good engineering practices.
But most of all, PSAS matters because of the people involved. We learn from one another, and build our community. And then we take what we've learned in this space, and we apply that to the companies we go work for. We take our sense of community, our team-work skills, and our knowledge out into the aerospace industry. And we make life-long friends in the meantime.
But most of all, PSAS matters because of the people involved. We learn from one another, and build our community. And then we take what we've learned in this space, and we apply that to the companies we go work for. We take our sense of community, our team-work skills, and our knowledge out into the aerospace industry. And we make life-long friends in the meantime.