HONOLULU (KHON2) -- A University of Hawaii at Manoa student group has been chosen as one of 10 small research satellite developers to launch their satellite into space as early as 2025 through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.
This marks the second project led by students in the earth and planetary exploration technology (EPET) certificate program to advance to the deployment phase. The first student-built satellite was selected in April 2023.
“The two groups of EPET students securing opportunities to launch their satellite with NASA highlights both the science and design strengths of the student research groups, and the quality of the EPET program enabling students to invent, design, and build spacecraft with exciting science and educational outcomes,” said Peter Englert, professor in the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) and EPET course coordinator.
“Our team is very excited to have this opportunity and grateful for all the help we have had to make it to this point,” said Sapphira Akins, CubeSat Relativistic Electron and Proton Energy Separator (CREPES) project manager and graduate student in mechanical engineering and aerospace. “We can't wait to have something we built operating in space within the next few years!”
The CREPES mission is a student-led project initiated at UH Manoa in 2022, aimed at studying solar energetic particle events and advancing solar knowledge.
When they launch their satellite with NASA, CREPES will carry a new type of micropattern gaseous detector designed to amplify the signals of solar radiation.
Data collected from these measurements is expected to significantly contribute to the understanding of space weather and the development of space climatology.
For more information about the CubeSat Launch Initiative and updates on this mission, visit NASA's official website at www.nasa.gov/cubesat.