• Question: how do you build a satalight ?

    Asked by Riley to Hester on 4 Mar 2021.
    • Photo: Hester Baird

      Hester Baird answered on 4 Mar 2021:


      That’s a great question! Designing and building satellites can be a very complicated (and long) process.
      First things first is to work out what the satellite is going to be for, and what it needs to have on it so that it can do what we want it to do. That can include any scientific instruments it needs to be able to take measurements, antenna to receive and send signals, solar panels if it needs to be able to generate its own power while in space, what materials it needs to be made out of, and many more things.
      Once the design has been completed, it is then time to start building and testing the satellite. A prototype (a test version) of the satellite can be made so the engineers can test whether all the parts work correctly. The design can be changed to fix any problems that come up in the testing. The satellite is built in something called a ‘clean room’ which as the name suggests, is a very clean room! The clean room is kept at a constant temperature and humidity and is designed to stop any static electricity building up on the electrical components of the satellite. This is so that the satellite doesn’t get damaged by any dirt or water or static electricity while it is being made.
      Once all the testing is complete, then the final satellite can be built and sent up to space!

Comments