A student-built satellite project led by Dr. Jordan Alexander, an astrophysicist, UNM-Taos math and science lecturer, and leader of the True Kids 1 (TK1) Space Program, is giving local students hands-on experience in aerospace engineering and space exploration. The program recently celebrated the launch of a student-built CubeSat (a class of small satellite) aboard a NASA high-altitude balloon the size of the Empire State Building, rising more than 100,000 feet above New Mexico.
During last Monday’s launch, Dr. Alexander and his students watched in awe from a location in Roosevelt County, New Mexico, approximately 22 miles west of Portales.
“It was 10 hours of thrill,” Dr. Alexander said about watching the launch with his students. “From its 8 a.m. launch to its 6 p.m. parachute return, this Taos high-schoolers’ project performed beyond expectation. From the real-time CubeSat telemetry—temperature and attitude/orientation—to the streaming infrared images, everything just worked.”
Packed inside a cooler and attached to a metal-frame gondola carrying experiments from around the nation, the CubeSat was hard at work during its mission. Its camera snapped a photo every 10 seconds while onboard sensors tracked temperature, light levels, acceleration, magnetic fields, and movement.
After the satellite returned to Earth, TK1 students began gathering data and will use it to learn more about spaceflight and improve future missions. For students living in rural communities who may never have considered a career in aerospace or engineering, participating in a project like this can positively influence their outlook.
“We are changing perspectives, including my own, by building and launching physical sensor systems for outer space,” Dr. Alexander explained. “We are now in a second space age where high schoolers are doing the work/exploration inaccessible to me growing up in Taos. Such experiences are surely changing opinions about a career in aerospace engineering.”
Now, TK1 students are building additional CubeSats that will launch from the UNM-Taos campus during Family Space Day this spring. The low-altitude balloon launches will give students another opportunity to test their designs, collect data, and apply STEM concepts in a real-world setting. Community members and families will be invited to witness the launches and learn more about the innovative space science work happening right here in Taos. More details will be announced as the event approaches.
The message Dr. Alexander tells young people who dream about space exploration but aren’t sure where to start is “Pursue your joy. If you dream about the cosmos, TK1’s got a cosmic opportunity for you. Ad astra per aspera!”