Student Impact

Irvine CubeSat represents an incredible opportunity for over 150 diverse students to come together and gain advanced hands-on STEM experience with an emphasis on space. Students not only assemble a CubeSat, but they also participate in a professional team environment that challenges them to receive and process technical training in their team’s area of emphasis, collaborate with manufacturers to acquire components, and even participate in professional panel reviews of their work from experts such as JPL personnel.

Once the CubeSat is successfully launched, schools will engage in a variety of orbital maneuvers and experiments, including operating the CubeSat to position the antennae, solar panels and camera for optimal operation. The CubeSat will also collect data that students can practice evaluating and share for further study.

Partner colleges and universities are supporting the program, because they view it as a training ground for the next generation of great minds in space science. Beyond high school, participants will be uniquely positioned to pursue post-secondary education in a variety of science and space-related disciplines.