SPACE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH SYMPOSIUM (E1.): 'HANDS-ON' SPACE EDUCATION (1.)

摘要

The sustainability of the skill base for future space missions is dependent on highly skilled engineering students entering the space industry. Future human missions to the Moon and Mars face the increasing problem of finding skilled engineers and scientists. This problem is common to all the developed countries around the globe. Recruitment is lagging seriously the retirement of experienced space vehicle engineers leaving a void of experienced engineers to plan, design and implement future missions. Three Australian Universities have carried out student hands on projects with former military sounding rockets. There are few places on the globe where suborbital and orbital rocket flights with payload recovery are facilitated. One of the largest rocket ranges that facilitate payload recovery is the Woomera Rocket Range in Australia. Here the three Australian Universities make good use of the Zuni sounding rocket program. The Zuni program conducted in collaboration with the Australian Space Research Institute provides students both graduate and undergraduate with hands on experience in payload design, payload recovery system design and instrumentation. The Zuni is a non guided solid fuel military rocket adapted to the role of atmospheric sounding carrying a 25 kilogram payload to an altitude of 12 kilometers. The Zuni due its military origins accelerates at 68 g and attains a peak velocity of Mach 2.5 within 2 seconds of launch. RMIT University experience from the Zuni program over the past three years has resulted in the design a Sanger two stage guided hybrid rocket capable of taking a ten kilogram payload to an altitude of 50 kilometers. The rocket system has been designed by project thesis students giving them real life hands on hardware experience. The rocket is designed to have peak acceleration on lift off of 8 g. The program is scheduled to conduct live firing of the hybrid prototype in October 2008. The first stage is a gas turbine powered Unmanned Ariel Vehicle (UAV) which is designed to carry the Hybrid rocket second stage to a launch altitude of 15 to 20 kilometers. The model used by ASRI and the Australian Universities is an innovative training program. Details of the program and evaluation of the cost effectiveness as a teaching tool are presented. Students design, manufacture and space qualify their projects. Student feedback has been positive with a high percentage of the students engaged in the program being contracted by international space companies.