On Thursday, October 28th, 2021 students from Gloversville High School’s High Altitude Achievement club were invited to see how the Serenity orbital CubeSat underwent pre-flight testing at Innovative Test Solutions in Schenectady, NY. Students were treated to a tour of ITS’s state-of-the-art testing facility and the multitude of machines and equipment that they regularly use to test all manner of engineered parts and products. ITS demonstrated one such machine, which is used to determine how much pressure a test article can withstand, by subjecting a pumpkin to increasing pressure. The students, and many in attendance, were surprised to see that the pumpkin did not crack until nearly 1,200 PSI of force was applied to it.

Students were also able to see Serenity in it’s hermetically sealed case as it underwent vibration testing and exposure to up to 100 g’s of force to simulate the ride to space on one of Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rockets.

New York State Senator Jim Tedisco also came to present Liz Kennick, president of TIS, and the students with New York State Senate Certificates of Merit for their pursuit of science and technology.