Students at Weber State University may be selected next month to build a satellite payload structure for an international space orbiter.
At a conference in Paris, officials of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corp. will propose commissioning Weber State to construct a device that will secure the world's largest amateur satellite during launch.Dick Jansson, Weber State adjunct professor and AMSAT vice president for engineering, said Weber State students would be a logical choice for building the payload structure because of their involvement with another part of the satellite and experience with other space projects.
Eleven Weber State students are constructing the space frame for the 23-foot, 880-pound satellite called "Phase 3-D."
Other agencies seeking the assignment are from Europe, Jansson said.
If chosen, Weber State students would be embarking on their first effort at building this type of space structure. Students and volunteer industrial experts from disciplines including physics and electronics would join manufacturing students for the project.
Building the satellite payload structure would become the largest space project taken on by Weber State's Center for Aerospace Technology, Jansson said. The center has built nine small satellites since 1981.
Weber State would have less than one year to build the payload structure. The satellite will be worth some $100 million when completed, Jansson said.
Organizers believe a unique elliptical orbit they hope to achieve with Phase 3-D will provide the first near-continuous international communication for amateur radio users.