Few Canadian universities have built one satellite; Space Concordia is now working on its second. And the student team needs your help. With an enthusiastic endorsement from Marc Garneau, MP for Westmount-Ville Marie and Canada's first astronaut, Space Concordia has launched an online campaign to raise $15,000 in support of the project.
Help Space Concordia build a satellite
Help Space Concordia build a satellite
The new satellite, ConSat-2, is entered into the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge, a national competition among universities.
Building the satellite requires resources such as solar cells, to power it, and a transceiver, so it can communicate with ground control once in space. To raise the funds, Space Concordia has turned to crowdsourcing platform Kickstarter.
To date, $7,000 in pledges have come in from all over the world. Contributors can receive different perks in return for their pledges, such as a Space Concordia T-shirt or even an autographed picture of Marc Garneau.
Space Concordia's project was chosen among Kickstarter's Staff Picks. The campaign was also featured on CBC news and CBC Radio One. To support the project yourself, please visit the team's Kickstarter page.
About ConSat-2
ConSat-2 is intended to study how self-healing materials react in space, a test which has never been done before.
The concept behind self-healing materials is deceptively simple. As team leader Mehdi Sabzalian explains, it's similar to blood coagulation following a cut, which eventually leads the skin to heal. Self-healing materials are made out of composites and the team has secured the help of one of the world's experts in this area -- Concordia's very own Suong Hoa.
This project is important, not only because of its potential scientific value, but also because it shows that Concordia's undergraduate students are capable of working on challenging engineering feats.
The satellite is entered into the second Canadian Satellite Design Challenge. Pitted against nine other teams, if Concordia's entry is successful, the satellite will be launched into space.