THE STUDENT SPACE PROGRAMS LABORATORY: FOSTERING STUDENT SPACE SYSTEMS EDUCATION AND RESEARCH WITHIN A UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT

In August of 2006, faculty and students at The Pennsylvania State University established the Student Space Programs Laboratory (SSPL) in an effort to consolidate and formalize space systems research and education at the University as well as to improve student opportunities. Further, SSPL strives to encourage collaboration with international institutions as a valuable resource and learning experience for its students. Because of the synergies between projects and the growing number and complexity of the projects, the need for a central management structure and systems engineering framework was evident. This paper is an update from the discussion presented at the 18th ESA PAC meeting, when the SSPL was still in its infancy. Now in existence for three years, the Lab has faced several challenges, such as managing the Lab's resources across multiple projects; enabling communication and collaboration between student teams; student retention and training; and formalizing effective processes for developing spaceflight hardware in the academic environment, with primarily an undergraduate workforce and a high turnover rate. Three successful flight projects, a flourishing first-year training program, inclusion on the JANUS mission, and industry recognition, show that the Lab as an organization is sustainable. Further anecdotal evidence from the students and industry has shown that the model of collaborative interdisciplinary efforts improves the student experience compared to coursework alone. The experience the SSPL provides will prepare students to make significant contributions to the area of space science and engineering.