Valparaiso University’s College of Engineering has joined five other Universities in the region in NearSpace Education’s Dream Big Program. NearSpace Education is an Indiana-based non-for-profit whose stated mission is to “inspire, equip, and impact the next generation of STEM students through innovative educational programs.” The project will also involve close collaboration with both other departments on campus and educational institutions within the community.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” Ben Jones ’25 said. “The big impact I see is not only being able to help my career with this amazing opportunity but helping others who are interested in space technology get that opportunity to learn as well and that’s why I’m excited about the future.”
Valparaiso University students will create a system by which ground stations in the SatNOGS network can download data from the satellite. These ground stations are only capable of receiving information, and cannot “talk back” to the satellite, meaning the data has to be sent blindly and without direct coordination. Students have a deadline of April 15, 2025 to design and build the components that will carry out this task. The satellite will launch in late 2025 – early 2026…