All-female engineering team to launch satellites
By MELISSA PETERSON
The launch of three satellites created by an all-female engineering team at Santa Clara University was postponed two minutes before liftoff last Friday due to the launch device's low battery power. The satellites are tentatively scheduled to head in to space next Thursday.
The satellites were completed last year after nearly 5,500 hours of work by a team of six Santa Clara engineering students.
Had the launch been a success, it would have been the first of the century.
Composed of only female students, the group has received even more attention since the engineering field is dominated by males.
"It wasn't that we said we'd be an all-female team, it's just there's so few girls and you get to know each other," Amy Slaughterbeck said. "You make connections."
Fellow Artemis engineer Theresa Kuhlman explained the impact their work has had.
"We have actually received an email from a father who is trying to educate his young daughter (2nd grade) about space, hoping that she may grow an interest and pursue some career in space," Kuhlman said. "He said she was excited to hear there was an all-female team of space scientists and wanted an autographed photo. Little things like that make a difference. Any impact that we can make in a positive way to younger females - get them interested and have them realize that it is possible - is the fun and glory of the project."
The project has had a positive impact on Kuhlman's life as well.
"Mostly I would say that the project taught me to go out there and reach for whatever I dream," Kuhlman said. "It has given me the confidence and drive to succeed in what may seem unimaginable."
Launched aboard a large rocket, the satellites will be released into outer space this Saturday, assuming all goes according to plan. The launching will take place at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, Cal.
Once released, the satellites will orbit nearly 500 miles above the earth's surface. To put that figure in perspective, the distance between Santa Clara and Eugene, Ore. is roughly 500 miles. The Santa Clara satellites will ride into space on Stanford's larger satellite and will also be accompanied by satellites from Arizona State University, Weber State University and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Slaughterbeck described the smaller satellite as approximately the size of a wallet, with the other two satellites twice that size.
The larger Santa Clara satellites will collect storm information. One will send out a signal in Morse code indicating the project's Web site.
"Anything and everything that we thought would go smooth didn't," Slaughterbeck said. Citing difficulties in obtaining and working with some of the materials used during the project, Slaughterbeck added that "when you consider the payoff, it was well worth it."
The student engineers responsible for the creation of the satellites are Maureen Breiling, Dina Hadi, Corina Hu, Theresa Kuhlman, Amy Slaughterbeck and Adelia Valdez. They were directed by Christopher Kitts, co-director of the Santa Clara Remote Extreme Environment Mechanisms Laboratory (SCREEM), a division of the university's engineering department.
The group named their development project "Artemis" for the Greek goddess of hunting and the moon.
"The engineering program here is leaps and bounds beyond other schools, but with the course load, it can be difficult to get a lot of hands-on experience," Slaughterbeck said. "This was a good way to get that."
Information about the project can be found on the Internet at http://screem.engr.scu.edu/artemis.
The rescheduled launch can be viewed at http://www.webcastingtv.com this Saturday.