If the crowd at this year’s Queen’s Space Conference is any indication, student interest in the space sciences is high and growing. The one-day event, held on Saturday, Feb. 1, was put together by students in physics and astronomy programs at the Kingston, Ont. university. Excalibur attended to talk with guest speakers and students in the crowd.
Tying theory to practice was a key theme, as was the possibility of careers for students. “Keep an open mind and think about the different ways this technology can be applied. It’s very emerging so there’s going to be lots of opportunity,” said Graeme Daly, co-founder and CEO of stratospheric flight management firm Stratotegic, and also one of the conference’s featured industry professionals.
Daly’s company specializes in a technology called “high altitude platform systems” (HAPS), essentially aircraft that offer similar functionality to satellites while being lower in orbit. “It’s kind of a bridge between satellites and drones,” he explains. “It has the persistency of a drone but also the endurance of a satellite.”
One emerging application is in protecting satellite infrastructure during incidents of “space warfare,” which Daly describes as “a very real thing.
“There are a lot more assets in orbit that are critical for day-to-day operations but also for military operations. And if those were taken out, then the enemy would have an advantage,” he articulates.
The ability to deploy HAPS quickly means “being able to replace that infrastructure at a moment’s notice.” Daly believes that this is “a real capability that militaries should have.”
Applied research is also an area where interested students could expect to contribute, according to Shahrukh Alavi of the National Research Council’s Flight Research Lab. His lab has a fleet of aircraft to conduct various forms of research. “[We do] flight mechanics, environmental studies, and my specialty is in the microgravity program,” he says.
That research isn’t without it’s operational challenges, though. “There’s a lot of motion sickness involved, and it’s a very unusual flight profile from the commercial airlines,” says Alavi. “We have scientists who get sick, do a parabola, and do their science in between. They do what they have to do.”
For students who want to brave the motion sickness, a number of opportunities are available. Alavi recommends the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge, run through Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) Canada. “Around August/September there’s a call for proposals and around that time you get your team together and suggest your project,” he explains.
He concludes by encouraging people to start early. “Go talk to your professors, see what research is being done in your university […] Even before you’re in graduate work, go and see what people are doing. Get your foot in the door.”
