NASA RockSatX

NASA RockSat X provides educational institutions and STEM field students from around the world with the opportunity to design, fabricate, and launch a scientific payload onboard a real NASA rocket. The program, run through the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, is focused on encouraging students to receive real world experience, and develop original scientific experiments that can withstand true spaceflight conditions.

RockSatX poses especially rigorous challenges for students as experiments are exposed to the harsh conditions of spaceflight. Student proposals begin in the fall when collegiate teams pitch their ideas to the NASA selection committee. Over the course of multiple rounds of feedback and review, final proposals are judged for viability and qualifying teams are selected for spots on the NASA rocket. This leads to fabrication and testing in the spring and an ultimate launch in the summer from NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. 

Current Project - TREES in Space

The 2024 Tri-Release Electromagnetic and Environmental Systems (TREES) project aims to improve on a novel capsule release system designed in the previous year. This involves releasing three data collection capsules that will, in total, collect magnetic, temperature, pressure, and sulfur dioxide concentration data. These varied data will hopefully inform future student missions and broader study of climate change and greenhouse gases.

Student Leads

Project Manager: Amir Erfan Shahla
Electrical Lead: Vatche Patrikyan
Mechanical Lead: Noy Hakobyan
Software Lead: Aram Aprahamian
Research Lead: Mark Fullton

For more information about the NASA RockSatX program at large, visit the NASA RockSatX Official Webpage