January 24, 1998

        News Release

UA Student Satellite Project moves into Preliminary Design Phase

It has been a little over a year since The University of Arizona Student
Satellite Project (SSP) was first conceived, and since then, community and
university leaders have been working together to guide UA students in
their dream of designing, building, and operating their own satellite. The
satellite will be built to do research in lightning, sprites, stellar
photometry, and laser communication.

The SSP is an evolving interdisciplinary project among the UA College of
Science, College of Engineering and Mines, and the Optical Sciences
Center. Its purpose is to provide students the opportunity to participate
in the process of making a complex system function, from design to
operation, through teamwork.  Since its inception on November 7, 1996,
when several faculty members discussed the idea over pizza, the SSP has
passed a series of milestones and continues to march forward.

On November 22, 1997, the Conceptual Design Review of the SSP's first
satellite was completed, in which SSP student teams presented their design
ideas to a panel of university, community, and industrial leaders. The
panel, known as the Evaluation and Selection Panel (ESP), acts as an
advisory board for the SSP, according to K. C. Hsieh, UA Physics Professor
and SSP Mentor. The ESP, chaired by Ralph Lorenz of the UA Lunar and
Planetary Lab, first evaluated and selected student proposals last April,
during one of the first phases of the project. The ESP will also be
instrumental at the next design evaluation, the Preliminary Design Review,
tentatively scheduled for April. The satellite, yet to be named, is set to
launch in 2000.

Over seventy students from departments throughout the University are
currently participating in the SSP. The students work in seven teams,
guided by faculty mentors from various UA departments: E. Fasse and W.
Chen (Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering), H. Tharp and K. Virga
(Electrical & Computer Engineering), K. Thome (Optical Sciences Center),
U. Fink (Planetary Sciences), and W. Wing (Physics).

While five of the teams focus on various aspects of satellite design,
control, and maintenance, two other teams are devoted to the scientific
goals and technological initiative of the satellite. The SSP's scientific
mission will be the study of lightning and sprites - a new atmospheric
phenomenon - and the measurement of the brightness of some stars. The
technological initiative is to test the feasibility of laser
communication.

Students of the SSP receive many benefits for their hard work.
Opportunities to gain hands-on experience in the design, fabrication, and
operation of an elaborate system, which leads to self-confidence and
employable skills, are a few of the essential advantages of the project,
said Hsieh.

"In addition, the SSP provides an avenue to enhance beneficial
interactions between the university and community," Hsieh said. Through
these interactions, the SSP is winning industrial and community partners.
Donations of time, guidance, and various services have been generously
offered to students and mentors involved in the project. Most recently,
members of the SSP were invited to the Motorola plant in Chandler for a
tour of the Iridium satellite facility by Ron Jost, Iridium Chief
Engineer, and a member of the SSP's ESP.

 The University of Arizona has also played an instrumental role in the SSP
by contributing the use of laboratory and office space, scholarships to
students, and operational funds and services. The Departments of Physics
and Atmospheric Sciences provided stipends for six students in the summer
of 1997. To date there are five UA/NASA Space Grant interns working on the
project. Many students are also receiving academic credit for their role
in the SSP.

 Through the SSP, students have been able to work with industrial partners
and solidify skills that can help them in the workforce, said Chris
Lewicki, SSP Project Manager and UA Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
graduate student. "The SSP gives students a unique opportunity in which to
develop interdisciplinary skills that are often taken for granted in
industry," Lewicki said.

As the students prepare for the Preliminary Design Review, the project
leaders offer continuous guidance and support.  More students are always
welcome to join the SSP. Students are also encouraged to seek more
resources from outside the university system, said Lewicki. Currently
Hsieh is meeting with leaders of the Tucson Greater Economic Council to
gain their support for the SSP.

Interested parties are invited to visit the SSP website at
http://www.physics.arizona.edu/ssp.

Contact:        Alaina Levine
Communications Director
 (520) 621-4969
alaina@physics.arizona.edu

Dr. K. C. Hsieh
Physics Professor
(520) 621-6772
hsieh@physics.arizona.edu

Chris Lewicki
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student
(520) 977-0758
ChrisL@Arizona.EDU