The objective of this project is to provide a group of select and talented undergraduates hands-on experience on all aspects of the development of a satellite mission. Under the guidance of faculty,…

This is a $200,000.00 Cooperative Agreement award from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the Georgia Tech Research Corporation (Georgia Tech), doing business as the Office of Sponsored Programs, a non-profit research organization and state institution of higher education. The objective is to provide undergraduate students hands-on experience developing a CubeSat satellite mission that will demonstrate centimeter-level altimetry precision using a miniaturized LIDAR imaging camera. The project team will include science and engineering students guided by faculty and graduate students with prior CubeSat and LIDAR experience. This contract does not have a set-aside designation. Georgia Tech has a history of serving as both a prime contractor and subcontractor on major federal contracts and grants across various agencies including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and National Science Foundation, often in areas like materials science, engineering, and space research.

The objective of this project is to provide a group of select and talented undergraduates hands-on experience on all aspects of the development of a satellite mission. Under the guidance of faculty, staff, and graduate students, the undergraduate student team will assemble, test, and integrate a miniaturized lidar imaging camera into a 3U cubesat. A parallel development will also design and test a deployable inflatable that will serve as the lidar camera s primary imaging target. The goal of the cubesat mission is to demonstrate CM-level altimetry precision over tens of kilometers. The applications for a compact laser altimetry system are numerous, and are particularly valuable for planetary missions involving the topographic mapping of planetary bodies such as moons and near- earth asteroids. Furthermore, the mission will be able to accomplish its mission objectives in any low-earth orbit altitude, making IT an ideal candidate for future rideshare opportunities. The project team would consist of a mixture of science and engineering undergraduate students that would be guided and trained throughout the project lifecycle by faculty and graduate students with prior cubesat and lidar experience. Select students would develop leadership skills by serving in subsystem lead roles, and by presenting project results at national conferences. Participating undergraduate students would also receive course credit for their efforts.