Talent
Sending a satellite to fix the STEM problem
The countdown is underway. Within the next three months, a team of engineering students will be sending a DIY satellite into near space. And then they will tackle the more difficult feat of bringing it back to earth, controlling its re-entry such that it will land as planned.
But Mr Khor Zijian, Mr Ang Guan Yang and Mr Lho Chen Yang (left to right in picture above) have a loftier, and perhaps even more challenging, goal. They want to generate excitement in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education amongst Singapore students by invoking the fantasy of flight and space exploration and getting them to create their own launch-able satellites.
The team showcased its LaunchMe satellite at the official opening of IDA Labs, set up as part of a $10 million initiative by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) to provide physical labs spaces for people of all ages to tinker with technology and explore possibilities.
“The whole idea is that you explore something, try something,” said Mr Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman, IDA. “We want to encourage young IT professionals, and even those who are younger than that, to be thinking about what they can create and build with technology,”
Mr Khor, an engineering systems design student at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), said the team was inspired by a design course which put them through the paces of sketching, 3D modelling, design thinking and fabrication. “Through this, we learnt about science, art and design, and experienced the ability to turn into reality the ideas that we had in our heads.”
They wanted to share this experience. “We realise Singapore faces a shortage of local engineers because of a lack of interest in STEM education,” said Mr Ang, an engineering product development student at SUTD. “As a result, there is a decrease in economic competitiveness and productivity, and in our ability to deal with issues such as cyber security. We want to reverse this trend.”
And “space” seemed to be the way to go, said Mr Khor. “It is something that will attract youths and spur interest in STEM. That was how LaunchMe was conceived.”
Built from scratch with its casing produced through 3D printing and laser cutting, the LaunchMe satellite will be lifted to a height of about 32 km via a weather balloon. It will be equipped with a camera, a radio transmitter and a host of sensors and electronics which will guide its flight path and capture data for analysis.
The team is confident of a successful launch, thanks to their STEM background. Its chief programmer Mr Lho, a computer engineering student at the National University of Singapore, is the go-to guy for the programming of Arduino sensors, and for calculating flight paths, gliding distances and when to deploy the parachute. All these will be done automatically from the satellite itself.
Mr Ang is designing the re-entry module, ensuring that the delicate electronics in the satellite withstand the harsh conditions of near-space flight and survive the re-entry. As part of this, he is looking at the best materials to build this with and ensuring that the design is aerodynamically sound.
Mr Khor handles the system integration of the two, calibrating the right amounts of gas and the weight of the load which will allow to satellite to reach the desired height. He is also modelling the satellite’s trajectory and its optimal landing zones, and ensuring that the whole project retains a high excitement and educational quotient whilst keeping costs to a minimum.
Next up, the team is developing a co-curricular programme targeted at students aged 13-18, to interest them in STEM. Mr Lho, for example, is exploring novel ways of teaching programming to young students. The LaunchMe programme will introduce students to Arduino rapid prototyping technology and programming. They will get to conceptualise, design, fabricate, launch and recover a weather balloon satellite. Through this, the team hopes to inspire students to learn engineering skills such as design, data analytics, problem solving and decision making.
A third IDA Labs facility is in the works, and it will be located in a public library. Speaking at the official launch of IDA Labs on 24 April, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information, said IDA and the National Library Board are looking into setting up IDA Labs@Library to encourage more people to engage in hands-on technology experimenting and building.
While the exact location is yet to be confirmed, it will be in an area which is accessible to the public so that the community can participate in the initiative, Ms Lee Wan Sie, Director, IDA Labs. Parents will be able to bring in their children, and young people visiting the library will have access to equipment to tinker with technology.
IDA’s two existing labs are located at IDA’s headquarters at Mapletree Business City (IDA Labs@HQ) and at the National Design Centre (IDA Labs@NDC). “More than just a physical space, IDA Labs will work with its partners to offer a range of initiatives and programmes, with the aim to nurture a culture of creating and building in Singapore,” said Dr Yaacob. “It will be a platform where IDA and government agencies can partner the industry to experiment and develop new solutions.”
IDA Labs also aims to excite and attract young Singaporeans, from those in primary schools to students at the Institutes of Higher Learning, to tinker, build, and fix with technology.
Dr Yaacob noted that among the activities offered to the public, robotics has been very popular with students. “We are encouraged to see curious young minds getting excited about computational thinking,” he said.