Design a Robotic Payload for a Satellite!
Space robotics engineers, we need your assistance on a servicing operation!
Gather a team and help design the next generation of robotic servicing satellites. Help SDL repair a known malfunctioning spacecraft called Modular Earth Sensing Surveyor (MESS). This spacecraft is the size of a mini-fridge and is operating in low Earth orbit (LEO).
SDL is developing a new space payload that could enable satellites to attach to and traverse around the exterior of operating satellites. Help test this concept on mission MESS.
Your job is to:
- Design, build, and demonstrate a SpaceBot system that can traverse around another satellite.
- Validate the activity in a simulation to prove the concept in a space environment.
A ground demonstration will be performed in spring 2026. SDL will perform rendezvous and docking operations to get your robot to the satellite, and then it is up to your team to perform the traversal maneuvers. Good luck!
2024 SpaceBot Demo Day
Live Demonstration Location
Space Dynamics Laboratory
416 East Innovation Avenue
North Logan, UT 84341
Event Sponsors
Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory
American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
USU Section