CECIL, 1U Amateur Radio CubeSat; Analyzing How the Growth of the Commercial Space Industry Has Affected American Public Perception in Governmental Space Missions

The technical thesis is centered around the design and development of a 1U CubeSat, which is a small satellite approximately 10 cm on each side. The purpose of this satellite is to establish an amateur radio satellite that the university, as well as any amateur radio enthusiasts, can access and take images of the Earth during the course of its orbit. By establishing an operational satellite that has frequent communication with the university, the prestige and accomplishments of the university will be enhanced, especially in regards to the aerospace engineering field.
The STS research paper, on the other hand, is specially researching how the commercial space industry will affect the American public’s relation to the governmental space industry, i.e. NASA. The particular subject analyzed is the commercial space industry and its projected effects upon American society. More specifically, the exact question being analyzed is as follows: Due to the current and expected growth of commercial space flight within the United States, how does one expect the public perception of how the government conducts missions related to the space industry change? The method of research primarily consists of documentary research and analysis under the application of the Wicked Problem Framework. Upon completion of research collection and analysis, a notion of how the United States public will react to future government-sponsored space missions should be formed; in turn, this will act as an indicator of how future missions and policies will be affected. Furthermore, this will allow for an inference about how the space industry will develop in the coming decades.

School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Technical Advisor: Chris Goyne
STS Advisor: Bryn Seabrook
Technical Team Members: Sean Bergmann, David Broome, Joshua Choe, Nathaniel Craft, Eva Femia, Ari Goldman, Martin Keuchkerian, Gabriel Norris, Andrew Oxford, Jack Shea, Isabella Todaro, Zach Wilson, Monica Wuhrer