“This shared resource limits the amount of data that can be return from a single mission compared with what could be returned by the Solar System Pony Express.” The DSN is an array of large radio telescopes on the Earth that supports many interplanetary spacecraft missions. “The technology we're using now to retrieve data from Mars, or from other planets, results in a bottleneck because everything is downlinked via the Deep Space Network,” Pascarella said. It’s called the Solar System Pony Express, named for a postal service that operated in 1860 between the Midwest and the West Coast using relayed horse-mounted riders-only this express uses a network of satellites. Register to join this special online presentation: Īlex Pascarella is working on a mission concept that will retrieve data from Mars more efficiently. Manufacturing Engineer at Kimball Electronics Mechanical Design Engineer at Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas Inc. Hear from three of our alumni who took different career paths. Not all AE alumni stay in aerospace-specific jobs. It controlled the flaps to modify the roll torque on the rocket autonomously during flight.' “But what was most amazing is that this was the first time two years that we’ve been able to successfully deploy an active control system. You can see the flaps pop out and move as the roll rate changes,” Chigullapalli said. “We put a camera on the side of the rocket and got some incredible footage. The rocket was recovered safely with all its parts intact, including the sensitive avionics. As this was just a test flight, the goal was to reach 9,200 feet in altitude. Now that we’re back in-person, we finally got the opportunity to train new members and get the launch experience we were all waiting for.”Ĭhigullapalli said the rocket was very stable and hit the desired apogee. “ISS members have stayed dedicated to the large rocketry project throughout COVID and the online semesters. “We wanted to give freshmen and other new members the experience of launching a rocket within the first couple of months of the academic year,” said Anshuk Chigullapalli, Illinois Space Society’s technical director, and currently an aerospace engineering junior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It was developed for a 2021 competition that went virtual due to the pandemic. Although the Illinois Space Society's large rocket was named Endurance, the team members also demonstrated tremendous endurance in just getting it to the launch pad.

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