On Tuesday 2nd July, around 40 SUN members congregated at the University of Nottingham for our annual workshop. Before the start of the first session, we were welcomed by Ian, as well as Tanja and Jez from the University of Nottingham (and tea and coffee). We were then given an update from of the three working groups: Industry, Resources and Curriculum.
This session focused on SUN members sharing examples of teaching practice.
- University of Birmingham: MSc Space Engineering CubeSat Design
- University of Manchester: Systems Engineering Coursework in MATLAB
- Space Activities at the University of Nottingham
- Space Skills Alliance: Analysis of Skills, Training, Research And Innovation Opportunities In Space
- University College London: Seven Samurai of Systems Engineering
- Rocketry CompetitionS and UKRace2Space
It kicked off with Leah-Nani, who unfortunately couldn’t be with us in person, presenting an overview of the CubeSat Design Module of the University of Birmingham’s new MSc in Space Engineering, which is just finishing its first year. She showcased the plan for a hands-on module using a 1U ISISpace CubeSat, sadly delayed by export control, and the rapid pivoting of the module to using the disassembly and reassembly of the flown and engineering model of the PIOneERS Rexus/Bexus CubeSat in its place. You can watch Leah’s talk below (16 minutes):
After this excellent start, we moved north, with Ian Muirhead from the University of Manchester and the development of a systems modelling coursework utilising MATLAB. This assessment aims to simulate spacecraft subsystem performance in a second-year module alongside 6 weeks of teaching on Space Systems. Building on student feedback and a heavy marking burden, this assessment was redesigned into a single MATLAB Live Script following a mission design thread with 5 subsystems, with the first being a formative assessment. AI use was encouraged in the exercise, with use encouraged and the questions refined to allow this, and the marking rubric was simplified. This redesign received very positive feedback from students, with future work to quantify the effect this change had on success in subsequent years.
You can watch Ian’s presentation below (16 minutes).
Our next speaker was Chantal Cappelletti from our host institution for 2024, the University of Nottingham, sharing more broadly their space engineering activities. Of particular interest was the hands-on approach, using the ESAT from TheiaSpace to demonstrate small satellite systems, and their newly commissioned VHF/UHF/S-band ground station. Assessment in the “Introduction to Space” module follows the design of a preliminary CubeSat mission with some design constraints – cost, schedule, etc. The development of the module following student feedback on workload was shown from an individually selected mission for mission and system analysis to mission analysis only on a preselected mission. This module led into a fourth-year team design project, with each team member focusing on one subsystem design, and adding in failure analysis.
Her 14 minute presentation is below.
Following this, a slight deviation from specific universities’ teaching, focusing instead on an EU Horizons project (ASTRAIOS) on space-related education and training in Europe, and projecting future demand for space skills. Heidi Theimann from Space Skills Alliance presented the work, which started in 2023. The University of Twente looking at degree courses across Europe, and structuring results into an online database (https://www.astraios.eu/), feeding into taxonomies (EU-TaSK) on space education and training, aligned with European standards for further analysis. Additionally, ASTRAOIS looks at LinkedIn analysis on trends on workforce migration, tenure, salary, gender, retention, qualifications, degree subjects, etc.
You can watch Heidi’s 12 minute presentation here:
We were then treated to an abridged talk from SUN co-chair Ian Raper from University College London. The framework that was the topic of this talk is used by UCL in their teaching, both on their MSc programme, and the space systems engineering course they deliver to ESA. The Seven Samurai of Systems Engineering promotes systems thinking: it’s important to think wider than just the system (e.g. satellite) that is being designed, to include collaborating and competing systems, and their evolution though time.
This fascinating talk is linked below (8 minutes).
The final speaker of the morning session was Alistair John from the University of Sheffield, talking about the UKRace2Space competition. This competition aims to link rocketry and propulsion training into a larger initiative, linking closer to industry. The competition has developed from 7 teams in 2023, to 19 teams in 2024. The peer-lead learning approach (using Discord) was emphasised – showcasing build threads, with collaborative discussion, including links to American rocket engineers giving knowledge and feedback.
His talk is below (13 minutes).
And with that, the morning session was finished, and the networking lunch began.
The afternoon session kicked off with a series of 2-minute pitches. The new SUN website was showcased, alongside talks on spacecareers.uk, UKSEDS and spaceprojects.uk. This short session was closed out by the SUN co-chairs, with an announcement of a minor funding call – up to £500 for SUN members to collaborate across their respective universities to share knowledge and teaching practice and produce a short vlog-style video of the outcomes. This was followed by a review of the statistics of ESA Education Engagement, showing early signs of a concerning downward trend – a suggestion was made to have a webinar on writing supporting documents for the application process to combat this. The final activity in this session was a showcase of inspiration: space and outreach props, from Jez Turner, University of Nottingham.
This was followed by updates from the 3 special projects in the 2024/25 funding round, led by Patrick Harkness – University of Glasgow, Peter Shaw – Kingston University, and Ben Dryer – The Open University. Patrick (and Adam Baker) is making a series of videos to inspire future rocketeers, educate on rocket engineering principles and demonstrate a hot-fire campaign for a rocket engine. Drafts of several of these videos were shown. Peter is making a short course focused on rocket safety, and the special project led by Ben is focused on upgrading OU’s Mars Yard, with plans to allow SUN members to use the activity within their curriculums.
The afternoon session facilitated a round-table discussion on the Space Workforce Action Plan – focusing on Foresighting and the Action Plan.
Following the closing remarks from Lucy, Kate and Ian, SUN members began to depart. There was an optional tour of the facilities at the University of Nottingham – the omni-factory (a self-reconfigurable machine tooling space), and the satellite lab.
Thank you so much to Jez, Tanja and the rest of the team at the University of Nottingham for hosting our 2024 workshop, and to Chris Toomer, Leah-Nani Alconcel, Jez Turner, Ehsan Razavizadeh, Biagio Forte and Ian Raper (the Curriculum working group) for organising this event, with the support of Thomas Rowson and David Reid, SUN’s Senior Administrator and Teaching Associate. We can’t wait to see you all at our 2025 instalment!