Creating Future Space Technology Workforce Utilizing CubeSat Platforms: Challenges, Good Practices, and Lessons Learned

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Abstract
The United States Naval Academy’s Small Satellite Program (NASSP) has been actively developing and launching space payloads since 2001 and has involved hundreds of undergraduate students in the design, development, integration, testing, and operation aspects of space systems engineering. NASSP has launched 17 space payloads so far, including seven CubeSats, with two more manifested for launch in 2021. The Naval Academy is an undergraduate-only institution, and thus has fostered a satellite engineering program centered around projects that were purely managed and run by students. NASSP and its space system projects have become more mature and streamlined over the years where the current Capstone Design operation is very close to achieving a “One CubeSat a Year” model. The goal is to realize a streamlined design curriculum where the students will be able to experience the entire scope of a satellite system project cycle, from concept design to launch and operation. This paper will describe the challenges that such a program faces, discuss good practices learned along the way, and detail some lessons learned.

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