Opportunities
SSDS seeks to push the boundaries of spacecraft capabilities through novel applications of modern physics and innovative design. We are currently engaged in several flight and research projects to demonstrate concepts, provide research testbeds, and enhance the state of spaceflight technology. Our team consists of faculty, Ph.D./M.S. candidates, M.Eng. students, and especially undergraduates.
Graduates from our lab have interned, worked, and risen to senior management roles at places like NASA, SpaceX, Draper, Northrop Grumman, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Blue Origin, Planet Labs, Apple, Facebook, Google and many more!
The application is now open for Summer 2024 Research Positions and will be closed on May 12th. NOTE: These are unpaid summer research positions, not internships.
Information session slides (Fall 2023) : General SSDS, Alpha (CubeSat + ChipSat-Sail), Sailing to the Stars (ISS Light Sail Deployer), DeSCENT (Suborbital ChipSat Launch)
If you have questions about SSDS or the application, please email Joshua Umansky-Castro (jsu4@cornell.edu). The application process is rolling. Please apply early!
PH.D.
If you are a prospective Ph.D. student, please apply to the Ph.D. Degree program through Cornell’s Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and express interest in SSDS on your application.
M.ENG.
We are actively seeking M.Eng. students for research activities during Fall 2024. If you would like to participate in research during the summer (regardless of whether you are continuing the research in the Fall), please apply here. Additional projects supervised directly by Prof. Peck can be found here. Please reach out to him individually regarding those.
Project Areas:
Alpha CubeSat
Flight software testing (1-2 students, oop C++ and microcontroller programming experience desired)
Mission management support (1 student)
High Altitude Balloon (2-3 students)
ChipSats
ChipSat Antenna Design - DeSCENT mission (1-2 students, RF experience desired)
ChipSat Flight Software - Alpha + DeSCENT missions (1 student, microcontroller experience desired)
ChipSat Circuit Design - DeSCENT mission (1-2 students, RF PCB design + microcontroller experience desired)
undergrad
We are actively seeking undergraduates for research activities during Summer 2024. Please apply here.
Project Areas:
Alpha CubeSat
Flight software testing (1-2 students, oop C++ and microcontroller programming experience desired)
Machinist (1 student, machine shop experience desired)
Mission management support (1 student)
High Altitude Balloon (2-3 students)
Publicity/Communications (1-2 students)
Web Development (1-2 students)
ChipSats
ChipSat Antenna Design - DeSCENT mission (1-2 students, RF experience desired)
ChipSat Suborbital Deployer - Machinist (1-2 students, machine shop experience desired)
ChipSat Flight Software - Alpha + DeSCENT missions (1-2 students, microcontroller experience desired)
ChipSat Circuit Design - DeSCENT mission (1-2 students, RF PCB design + microcontroller experience desired)
DESCRIPTIONS
Alpha CubeSat (lead: Josh Umansky-Castro, jsu4@cornell.edu)
The Cornell Alpha mission is a 1U CubeSat that deploys a light sail into low Earth orbit. Unlike previous light sail missions, ours is free-flying (completely separated from the CubeSat) thanks to its retroreflective material, shape-memory alloy deployment system, and the novel application of ChipSats (gram scale spacecraft-on-a-chip technology) as the sail’s flight computers. The CubeSat, while primarily a delivery vehicle for the light sail, tests a number of key technologies as well. It features an entirely 3D-printed structure to enable quick and inexpensive prototyping, an onboard Iridium modem that bypasses the need for ground-station radio equipment, and an attitude-control subsystem that provides full attitude and angular-rate control using magnetorquers only. The CubeSat is in its final stages, with plans to launch within 1 year. We are seeking students to take the lead with the following tasks:
1. Flight software testing (1-2 students)
Alpha CubeSat is preparing for launch! We’ve reached both a hardware design freeze and a code freeze, but have some very thorough testing to complete before we’re ready to send this 8-year project off to space. A key element is power budget testing. This involves a hardware in the loop (HITL) setup of our “FlatSat” and solar simulator to recreate expected power in orbit. The student(s) shall be responsible for onboarding onto our Flight Software repository and conducting automated multi-day tests to determine an optimal balance between ground communications and power conservation. Software engineering experience and familiarity with object oriented C++ is desired, as well as microcontroller circuit experience.
2. Machinist (1 student)
Spare parts are needed for CubeSat rails and the latch for the sail release mechanism. These must be precisely machined from Al 6061 T6 at a tolerance of +/- 0.1mm as per launch provider requirements. High attention to detail and ability to work independently in the machine shop is desired.3. Mission management support (1 student)
We are looking for 1 student to be responsible for revamping the mission’s verification cross-reference matrix (VCRM), formalize the mission profile, and further develop our fault-tree analysis. The student shall work closely with project leads and mentors to ensure they are sufficiently informed to complete these tasks.4. High Altitude Balloon (2-3 students)
As a side project for our CubeSat launch, we are also launching a version of our CubeSat to the edge of space in a high-altitude balloon! The project involves similar avionics and mechanical components to our actual spacecraft and similarly seeks to deploy a light sail, but this time we’ll capture high-resolution footage of the sail deployment from multiple angles at 100,000ft! This is a great entry-level project for students who want to gain the skills for higher-stakes spacecraft projects. We are seeking mechanical, electrical, and software engineers! CAD, PCB design, soldering, and microcontroller circuits/programming are useful skills that shall be relevant to this project. We’re hoping to have it launch-ready by the end of the summer!
5. Publicity/Communications (1-2 students)
Inspired by science fiction and Breakthrough Starshot, an interstellar laser sail initiative to the Alpha Centauri system, the Alpha CubeSat mission is an exciting and admittedly complex tale to tell. In addition to integrating ChipSats, light sailing, and a CubeSat into a single grapefruit-sized package, Alpha is also delivering the first holographic images to space. The artwork serves as a message plaque reminiscent of those onboard the Pioneer and Voyager missions, but the holographic medium could very much be the key to successful laser-beam riding to Alpha Centauri. We are looking for students interested in science communication, with skillsets in graphic design, science writing, or photography/videography.6. Web Development (1-2 students)
We’ve launched a new website for the mission: alphacubesat.cornell.edu and are continuing to build it as we get closer to launch! We have ideas for interactive CAD models of our spacecraft, click-and-learn pop ups for various spacecraft components, crowdsourced message boards for our “What would you send to the stars?” prompt, embedded social media feeds, and more! If you’ve got experience with Unity, that’d be a huge help.
ChipSats (lead: Josh Umansky-Castro, jsu4@cornell.edu)
ChipSats are gram-scale PCBs that can fit in the palm of your hand, but thanks to the miniaturization of electronics, contain all of the essential functionality of a much larger satellite. They’ve been in development at SSDS for the past decade and previous generations of these tiny Spacecraft have flown on the ISS, been deployed into Low Earth Orbit, and have been tested in Earth-based contexts in vineyards and on dairy farms. Currently we are investigating their use as flight computers onboard a free-flying light sail for the Alpha mission, and the potential for swarms of these ChipSats to survive atmospheric entry and disperse during descent (DeSCENT mission). We're looking for students who can take the lead with the following tasks:
1. ChipSat Software (1-2 students, ECE or CS)
For both ChipSat missions there is a need to develop driver code and higher-level flight software. The software shall be developed and tested with hardware in the loop. Familiarity with microcontroller circuits/programming and object-oriented programming in C++ is desired. It is recommended the the codebase follows the architecture of the Alpha CubeSat: https://github.com/Alpha-CubeSat/oop-flight-code/.
2. ChipSat Antenna Design (1-2 students, ECE or AEP)
We are currently designing ChipSats that transmit via LoRa on 437/915MHz and receive L1 GPS. The plan is to implement a dual-frequency PCB helical antenna, and integrate a small ceramic chip antenna for the GPS. Simulation in software such as CST Studio or ANSYS HFSS has proven enormously helpful in reducing the number of physical design iterations. We are looking for students to design these antennas, prototype them, and tune the impedance matching circuits to have low return loss at the desired frequency.3. Machinist - ChipSat Suborbital Deployer (1 student)
SSDS is collaborating with JHU-APL and Blue Origin to release 100 ChipSats at an altitude of 100km in late 2024 or early 2025. We will collect data from the ChipSats as they descend to understand their free-fall behavior, and will track their landing positions to characterize their spread. Small amounts of design work are still underway for this project, so machinists shall also play a role in the integration, test, and the final design tweaks of the system. Significant machining experience is desired for this role.