Space Mission Design
Design a mission that could actually fly.
Orbit, power, thermal, communications and re-entry. Students design a complete space mission and defend every trade-off.
Illustrative image: NASA / public domain
- Format
- Short course
- Length
- 8 sessions × 90 min
- Ages
- S3–S6
- Group size
- 12–24 students
What students do
- Calculate a stable orbit and explain the trade-offs
- Size a power and thermal system for a small satellite
- Build a mission timeline and failure-mode log
- Present the mission to a review panel
Tools
- STK / GMAT
- Spreadsheets
- CAD
- Mission design templates
This is not a poster project. Teams start with a destination, a mass budget and a launch opportunity, then work through the same constraints that shape a real mission: power, thermal control, communications, payload and cost.
The course ends with a design review. Each team presents its mission, explains what it cut, and answers questions from the room.
This programme can be adapted for different ages, session lengths and group sizes. Ask for a proposal with a session-by-session outline.
Language: English or Cantonese
Location: Your school or M21, Aberdeen
How it runs
Brief
We agree the cohort, timetable and what a finished project looks like.
Build
Students work in teams on a real brief, with a taught input at the start of each session.
Test
Teams measure against constraints and document what failed and why.
Show
A working demo, a short presentation and a record of each student’s contribution.
Related programmes
Aerospace · S3–S6
Ask about Space Mission Design — dates, cohort size, fees and a written outline.
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