In 2015, 3 students at the University of Georgia set
out to build a spacecraft funded by Kickstarter. They reached out to
faculty and received funding NASA and the Air Force.
The Small Satellite Research Laboratory was founded in 2016 with 8
faculty and 15 undergraduate students. The lab is now building two
cubesats for Low Earth Orbit and contains over 50 undergraduate
students, 5 graduate students, and 12 faculty. The Small Satellite
Research Laboratory had its first satellite, SPOC, deployed from the
International Space Station in 2020.
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The SSRL continues to fulfill many of the University’s mission goals
by:
1) Bringing national and international recognition to UGA through
its development of cutting edge technology;
2) “Serving a diverse and well prepared student body and promoting
high levels of student
achievement” through the training of undergraduate students in STEM
related fields from a diverse set of majors;
3) “Promoting
instructional quality and effectiveness and enhancing intuitionally
relevant faculty qualifications” by teaching students the steps
involved in designing, building, and testing space hardware as well
as navigating the gauntlet that is procedure writing, budgeting, and
management. These skills are not only applicable to the academic world
but also the general workforce.