Auburn University will soon be acknowledged in low-orbit space. The Auburn University Student Space Program (AUSSP) is currently building the first student-made satellite in Alabama, known as AubieSat-1, to be launched into space.

The AUSSP was established in 2002 by Dr. J-M Wersinger of the physics department. With the help of mentors, the students design, build, launch and operate spacecraft. As a member of the National Space Grant Student Satellite Program, the AUSSP receives funding from NASA.

“[AubieSat-1] is the first student built satellite to be sent into low-orbit space by a university in Alabama,” said Grant Moore, a sophomore member of the AUSSP.

The CubeSat is an aluminum alloy cube which has 4-inch sides and weighs about 2.2 pounds. After being thoroughly tested, the satellite will be sent to Russia for a launch on the Russian ICBM. This is hoped to happen within the next school year.

The satellite will measure the Earth’s magnetic field and transmit images of Earth to the ground station located in the physics department. Students are responsible for making most of the electronics on AubieSat-1.

“Right now I’m working on electrical power system, otherwise known as EPS, and our job is to gather power from solar cells and supply it to the rest of the satellite,” said Moore.

Along with the EPS, there are seven other teams working on AubieSat-1. Each team is responsible for a specific function of the satellite. There is a systems engineering team which makes sure that every part works well together and sees that all mission requirements are met.

The “Ground Station Team” designs, builds and operates all of the ground equipment including all antennas and computers. The “Communications Team” is in charge of the antennas and transceivers. The “Command and Data Handling Team” designs the command and data architecture and circuit board layout and also programs the processor.

The “Structures Team” oversees the structure of the satellite and makes sure that it meets all requirements. The “Thermal Team” makes sure that both the internal and external structures meet the thermal requirements. Finally, the “Payload Team” develops hardware components needed to accompany payload.

Each group must stay organized and efficient. The work and progress of one team affects the overall advancement of the project. All of the teams work under a systems engineer and a project manager. These positions are all held by students. In charge of the entire program is Wersinger, the program manager.

The satellite will generate power by solar cells that cover the whole cube to guarantee power from the sun and two lithium batteries. It is able to measure and store temperature, voltage, current and payload data from different sensors on the satellite because of an onboard microprocessor.

“I thought it sounded like a really interesting project to work on because we are combining electronics and space,” said Moore, an electrical engineering major.

This satellite will put Auburn University on the map as far as collegiate space programs are concerned.

For more information, check out the AUSSP Web site: space.auburn.edu/aubiesat-1/.


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