Online Course

Introduction to CubeSat Flight Experiments

Participants will be able to…

– assemble an Arduino microcontroller and sensors.

– program an Arduino and collect data from the sensors.

– solder basic components for CubeSat builds and future electronics projects.

– assemble a CubeSat frame containing an Arduino microcontroller and sensors.

– understand & use the Engineering Design Process to develop future CubeSat experiments with students.

The primary purpose of this online course is to provide teachers with an accessible, step-by-step program to introduce them to working with CubeSats in the classroom. With the training and resources from this course, teachers will be able to work with their students to build flight-ready CubeSats and experiments that can be flown on multiple launch platforms.

This course will strengthen the understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers through guided work in spaceflight experiments and engineering. It introduces affordable, easy-to-use flight experiment equipment and flight opportunities to educators across the US. Through our programs, we enable communities of learners to participate in authentic, hands-on exploration in STEM tied to actual spaceflight missions.

The course is delivered using Instructure’s Canvas learning platform. During the course you will have access to weekly office hours as well as direct email, video, and telephone support from Teachers in Space.

Participants will receive certificates of completion for 12 hours of professional development credit. We can work with participants to ensure that these hours are aligned with their state’s certification requirements.

Course Registration Fee: $400 – Payable by Credit Card or we can send an invoice directly to your school or district for payment through their purchase order system.

With enrollment you will receive access to the online course materials through Canvas, a CubeSat kit which includes all of the parts necessary to assemble a working CubeSat, and access to regular office hours and troubleshooting with TIS staff.

In this course we will break down the barriers to soldering with a simple introduction to equipment and the basics of soldering electronics. That module requires tools that are not included in the CubeSat Kit. You will need to either purchase or otherwise have access to soldering and safety equipment. We provide recommendations and direct links to inexpensive, yet high quality, soldering equipment in the course.

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Teachers in Space

Learn about the history, mission, and projects of Teachers in Space.

Module 2: Introduction to Arduino, Sensors, & Hardware

Learn how Arduino microcontrollers, which act as the brain of our CubeSats, are used to control various sensors and collect data. Additionally, you will learn about the specific sensors and other hardware that we will be using in this course.

Module 3: Programming with Arduino

Learn how to interface with an Arduino microcontroller. In this module we will be going over how to use Arduino’s Integrated Development Environment (IDE) software to run a simple program to control onboard and external LEDs.

Module 4: Working with the Photosensor

Learn to program the Arduino to collect and display light level data using a simple photoresistor.

Module 5: Introduction to Soldering

We will break down the barriers to soldering with this simple introduction to equipment and the basics of soldering electronics. This module requires tools that are not included in the CubeSat Kit. You will need to either purchase or otherwise have access to soldering and safety equipment.

Module 6: Saving Data to a MicroSD Card

This module details the setting up and use of a MicroSD module in order to save data from the CubeSat sensors.

Module 7: Temperature/Pressure Sensor

This module details the setting up and use of the Temperature/Pressure sensor.

Module 8: Gyro/Accelerometer

This module details the setting up and use of the Gyroscope/Accelerometer.

Module 9: Keeping Track of Date & Time

This module details the setting up and use of the Real-Time Clock.

Module 10: Working with Collected CubeSat Data

How to import data from the CubeSat microSD card to a Google Sheet or Excel spreadsheet, as well as how to make charts from that data.

Module 11: CubeSat Frame Assembly

Directions for assembling the CubeSat frame together with the Arduino, sensors, and additional hardware.

Module 12: The Engineering Design Process

Learn how to use the Engineering Design Process to design and develop future CubeSat experiments with your students