NASA
Colorado Space Grant Consortium RockSat-C Program - Outreach and Radiation Subsystem|| Hobart and William Smith Colleges
September 2016 – September 2017
Participated in the National RockSat-C Program, an aerospace research opportunity that allows students to design and build a sounding rocket research module (payload).
This was the 3rd time HWS was selected to participate in this program.
Selected for flight as one of eight colleges with the most advance and abled research rocket payload to be constructed, attached to a Terrier-Orion rocket and launched into space out of NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops, Virginia.
Our payload detected Muon particles at high altitudes and took spectral images of different layers of earths atmosphere as the rocket ascended and descended and measured radiation shielding of various plastics.
Participated with a team of eight students and two faculty members.
Conducted multiple teleconferences with with the RockSat-C Program Manager, a liaison for Wallops Flight Facility.
Completed the design phase and presented three design reviews during the fall semester; Conceptual Design Review (CDR), Preliminary Design Review (PDR), and the Critical Design Review (CDR).
Completed the integrated phase and presented four interim reviews; Subsystem Testing Review (STR), Intergrated Subsystem Testing Review (ISTR),
Full Mission Subsystem Review (FMSR), and Launch Readiness Review (LRR).
Completed Preliminary Report and Final Results documents to be included in a scientific journal at the end of the year.
Conducted final presentation to NASA Offcials, directors, and participant, along with my team members.
Assisted with grant and fundraising proposals for up to $20,000-$30,000. Applying for grant funding from Hobart Student Government, NY Space Grant Consortium, HWS Presidents Office, KETEK Corp, and Alcoa.
Created a website (https://hwsrocksatc.wordpress.com) that blogs our daily activities and tasks at NASA Wallops.
GSat-1 Outreach Program Founder||
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
RockSat-C Aerospace Research Competition
December 2016 – Current
Established a Geneva Middle School Outreach Program, now in its third year, for students to have hands on experience with STEM and NASA aerospace research, through an application process, in partnership with Hobart and William Smith Colleges and the Colorado Space Grant Consortium’s RockSat-C Program
Oversaw the assembling, testing, and integration of four Geiger Counter Radiation Sensor Kits that were attached to HWS’s RockSat-C teams research payload that was launched into space out of NASA Wallops Flight Facility.
Led workshops, over nine weeks-two times a week, and a full campus tour for 26 students, generating electronics, programming, 3D-printing, machining, payload design, shop work, and drone skills, resume experience, and a model for future years, which is now currently in its third year, showing that they built part of a rocket payload that was launched into space.
The students first learned how to solder. Than the students practiced soldering two practice kits, one siren and one voice changer. After, when they become comfortable with soldering, they soldered our Radiation Sensors, which were attached on our final payload.. Throughout the nine week program, the students also went on a full college tour of HWS, learned about 3D Printing, and were able to test their Radiation Sensor by flying it on a Drone.
GSat-1 stands for Geneva-Satellite Iteration 1. The reason we chose this as the programs name is because our team wanted to represent the programs location, while mimicking the Satellite portion of the RockSat-C name. Than we included the number one because our team wanted to emphasize that there will be other opportunities in the following years. If HWS competes in the program next year, the year after, and the year after that, than their will be a Geneva-Satellite Iteration 2 program, than Geneva-Satellite Iteration 3, and so on.
Robotics Course and "The Spacebots" Expedition" Video Conference with NASA||Montgomery Upper Middle School
September 2007 – October 2007
Participated in the third year of the Montgomery Upper Middle School’s eighth-grade Robotics course, the study and application of robot technology, and the first year we were able to communicate with NASA through a video conference.
Participated in a NASA video conference entitled, “The Spacebots Expedition,” led by Erika Guillory from the Johnson Space Center.
Provided pictures of NASA’s International Space Station and space shuttle, described as highly advanced robots. Saw images of the Candarm, a spacebot that works as a grabbing mechanism and served as a walkway for astronauts who repaired the Hubble Space Telescope, and other equipment NASA uses to train astronauts and make repairs.
Learned about two Mars rovers — Spirit and Opportunity — that NASA built for space exploration, like the golf-cart-sized, air-bag-enclosed rover, that bounded off the surface of Mars.
Learned that Mars gravitational pull is one-third of what it is on Earth.
To prepare for the conference we constructed “end effectors,” which are robot hands designed to replicate the human hand. Preparation also included taking a quiz that tested our understanding of robots and knowledge of basic robotics terms.
”It was so cool that the rovers could bounce as high as they were dropped,” said Cody Rivera, one of Ms. Weinberger’s students, who participated in the video conference.