Fourth Canadian Satellite Design Challenge Begins
The fourth offering of the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge (CSDC) has begun!
The CSDC is a Canada-wide competition for teams of university students to design and build a “CubeSat” satellite, which measures 10x10x34 cm (about the size of a 2-litre carton of milk), and weighs no more than 4kg. The goal of the CSDC is to be able to launch the winning satellite in order to conduct its science research mission.
Representatives from 12 of the 14 registered teams recently travelled to Winnipeg to attend the Canadian Space Society’s annual Summit, as well as to participate in a workshop to meet each other and to review the CSDC requirements.
Thirteen teams – more than in any previous CSDC – have registered to participate:
- University of Victoria
- Simon Fraser University
- University of British Columbia
- University of Alberta
- University of Manitoba
- University of Windsor
- University of Waterloo
- University of Toronto
- York University
- Queen’s University
- Carleton University
- Concordia University
- École Polytechnique de Montréal
- McGill University
The CSDC is organized and run as a simplified version of a real space mission. Each team decides on one or more science experiments that they want to have on-board, then design their satellite to be able to accomplish their science goals. The teams then participate as if they were space mission contractors, and must fulfill programme management and educational outreach requirements, in addition to the technical requirements of building their satellite. For example, teams must submit required documentation by deadline dates, and give a three-hour detailed “Critical Design Review” presentation of their spacecraft and mission, in front of a panel of judges.The CSDC also features a number of workshops, which give team representatives hands-on experience in spacecraft assembly or testing methods, working with space industry mentors, and visits to Canadian space companies. Please visit our Photos page to see photos from the previous CSDC offerings.
The CSDC is offered and managed by the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge Management Society (CSDCMS), a federally-incorporated not-for-profit volunteer organization. The CSDC benefits from in-kind and financial contributions from Boeing, Canadian space companies like MDA, UrtheCast, and Magellan, as well as Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
We hope you will continue to follow the progress of the CSDC during this fourth offering. In addition to these occasional newsletters, we also have:
- a twitter feed (www.twitter.com/csdc_canada)
- a facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canadian-Satellite-Design-Challenge/881559678548340)
