Meet the Winners: Portland State Aerospace Society
Portland State Aerospace Society (PSAS) is a community of university, community college, and high school students, developing low-cost, open-source rocketry and aerospace systems.
PSAS is responsible for Oregon’s first satellite (OreSat0), and currently has four strategic projects:
- Launching Oregon’s second satellite (OreSat0.5)
- Building and launching their LV3.1 carbon fiber rocket with its new electromechanical recovery system
- Developing their Karman-line capable rocket’s fuel engine (MinTS)
- Upgrading their current ground station kit, which is offered to universities to communicate with their own CubeSats
A core reason for PSAS’ stellar trajectory is the interdisciplinary nature intertwined in all their projects, allowing many fields and majors to work together. Not only do they open their projects up to diverse students and backgrounds, all their work and research is openly accessible through open-source repositories. By removing barriers to access, they are a champion of fostering an environment of continuous learning in their community and their network.
Space Accessibility made possible through OreSat Live
Ground Station: (noun) terrestrial radio station designed to communicate with space systems by receiving and transmitting radio waves.
OreSat Live is a hand-held ground station developed for high school students to build on their own, granting them access to an orbiting satellite. Most of the components can be acquired and printed locally or obtained easily from inexpensive kits. Once the student builds their own OreSat Live, the PSAS team coordinates a pass by of their OreSat1 CubeSat to the student’s coordinates. With OreSat1 pointed right at them, the student will go outside and point their ground station at the satellite using a cell phone app. The satellite then transmits a 10-minute live video from space, or a “400 km long selfie stick“, to any smart device connected to Wifi.
Except for amateur radio voice repeaters, this public interaction with a satellite in orbit is unheard-of, especially with receiving live video directly from space. Additionally, OreSat Live is more than just an outreach tool. It is also a high-speed communication link to CubeSats being operated under an amateur radio license. This 1Mbps bidirectional communication link is faster than any other amateur radio satellite communication link, marking an important milestone among CubeSat developers.
Buildable impact to Oregon’s STEAM education
OreSat Live was designed with the goal of being an educational tool for community outreach. With the prototype currently going through iterations while the OreSat1 mission launched in fall of 2025, PSAS is setting up the groundwork for community interaction.
Current Work
By connecting with different non-profits and teacher organizations, such as PDX STEM, PSAS is spreading awareness of the capabilities OreSat Live will provide students. They are also promoting the project through internal and external events, focusing on getting students, parents, educators, and the community onboard with the vision.
Once OreSat1 Launched in 2025
PSAS aims to work with the Oregon Department of Education in the form of buildable, accessible kits for high school students. Plans for expanding this to middle school kids is currently being developed. When the kit’s capabilities have been widely tested, PSAS will offer them to other CubeSat builders with the goal of expanding access to space.
Additional Community Outreach
One of PSAS’ core missions is to spread awareness and education of aerospace within the community, in all its interpretations. At the national stage, they have given talks in front of the offices of both Oregon Senators, presented at nationwide conferences, and host the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Expo – an event which invites speakers from all backgrounds to give talks on various aerospace topics and experiences.
For local events, they give tours of their lab for youths of all ages, ranging from elementary to high school, with varied backgrounds. PSAS has also led teams to present at the Oregon Museum of Industry and Science and at Airway Science for Kids events, which the latter serving disadvantaged minorities. All steps of the way, PSAS has remained committed to their mission of upholding equity in space, promoting diversity with their choices and actions of outreach.
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