Tufts University

Meet the Winners: Tufts University

Lacking an aerospace program within Tufts University, the Tufts SEDS chapter is how students come together to share their passion for space. Being the only space organization on campus, they are an engaging, inclusive, and technically broad community that fosters the interest in all space things.

With member backgrounds including astrophysics, humanities, mechanical engineer, chemistry, and computer science, chapter projects are tech heavy diverse in nature. Currently, they have project teams for astrophotography, radio telescopes, weather balloons, rocketry, and CubeSats. Students working on these project teams gain invaluable real-world experience which cannot be found within the Tufts curriculum.

Space Sustainability brought to you by SPACE RACCOON

CubeSat: (noun) a class of small satellites with a form factor of 10 cm (3.9 in) cubes. A 1U CubeSat, is one cube wide, roughly the size of a Rubik’s cube.

The Sensor Payload for Astute Classification and Evaluation of Residual Astronomical Components and Colliding Objects in Orbit Neighborhoods (SPACE RACCOON) 2U CubeSAT is tackling space debris.

SPACE RACCOON’s mission aims to classify and detect space debris to help address growing concerns around the increasingly congested space environment. They will do so through an on-board camera that will detect and classify space debris through computer vision and machine learning algorithms. They are launching the CubeSat to the most congested of orbits, Low Earth Orbit.

This will be the team’s second CubeSat. The first is a prototype of SPACE RACCOON, set to launch onboard the chapter’s rocket during the Spaceport America Cup competition this summer. The summer launch will help test and validate various subsystems and components.

Connecting the Community with Space Sustainability

The goal of the SPACE RACCOON project is to engage the community in interactive workshops that tackle various aspects of space exploration. The workshops cater to the k-12 community, with the main partnerships encompassing the local high schools.

Grow student’s understanding of the implications of space sustainability and why it matters back here on Earth. Space debris, composed of defunct satellites and rocket stages, poses a significant threat from collisions with operational satellites and spacecraft, jeopardizing their functionality. Moreover, indirect impacts of space debris reverberate through domains such as weather forecasting and telecommunications.
Provide immersive, hands-on demonstrations and instruction on assembling and preparing a CubeSat for orbit and launch. The k-12 community will have direct access to CubeSat prototypes under expert guidance. The aim is to ignite fascination with space technology and engineering.
Develop students’ skills in software and algorithm development. The more advanced workshops will introduce students to advanced techniques like computer vision. Through coding workshops and practical demonstrations, students will have the opportunity to acquire and apply these skills.

The workshops will also combine additional areas of interest, including the other chapter projects such as radio telecopy, rocketry, and astrophotography. Tufts SEDS seeks to foster a deeper appreciation for space exploration and a resolute commitment to addressing the issues that shape our collective future.

Don’t Miss Them @ SpaceVision ’24!