. 24/7 Space News .
Engineers Recognise Australian Satellite Achievement

out the payload door
Canberra - Sep 12, 2003
If everything had gone according to plan, Australia's FedSat satellite project would have been a stunning engineering achievement. That it succeeded despite the collapse of its foreign prime contractor made the achievement even more remarkable.

Left with little more than an incomplete shell, unassembled pieces and unfinished software, the engineering team from the Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems hastily revised their plans. Instead of having the satellite bus (its structural framework of solar cells, power and control systems) completed in Britain, the team relocated to Canberra, taking the pieces with them.

And instead of facing only the difficult enough tasks of integrating the satellite's four complex payloads with the structure, and testing the completed satellite, the team was now confronted with the need to first complete the platform, while simultaneously dealing with increased project costs and the rapidly-approaching launch deadline. Winning an AusIndustry Innovations Access grant was an important step towards the project overcoming these problems.

Drawing on the combined resources of its twelve participating organisations, the Centre for Satellite Systems assembled a fifteen-strong team of predominantly young and inexperienced engineers � many still at university � under the supervision of two senior engineers with extensive experience in space projects.

Training and education are among the key ambitions of the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program, and along with helping to develop Australian space industry were the primary purposes of the CRC for Satellite Systems.

Successful space missions require a combination of ingenuity, high standards of work, and the application of sound engineering practice and principles. Satellites have to operate for years, in a harsh environment and without the possibility of maintenance.

For that reason, the FedSat team emphasised high standards of quality control, documentation and test procedures. The outcomes of this careful systems engineering are the 14 December 2002 launch and the operation since then of Australia's most successful and complex satellite to date.

World-class engineering excellence, confirmed in the harshest of environments, and inspiring a new generation of engineers to cultivate the highest ambitions � these are the lasting results of the FedSat satellite project.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems' success with FedSat was recognised last week by an Engineering Excellence Award of the Canberra Division, The Institution of Engineers, Australia. The project will compete in the national awards later this year.

Related Links
Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

A Powerhouse of Space Technology
Welcome to Sydney. In addition to visiting Bondi Beach and the Opera House, this suburnt city invites you to stand beneath a Saturn 5 rocket motor and walk through a space station module.



Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only














The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.