APTAS

APTAS is one of the student projects at the Kiruna Space Campus with the goal to launch the first student-led satellite at Luleå University of Technology. The purpose is to design, build, test, launch and operate a 1U (10cm cube) CubeSat.

APTAS has two payloads: the EISCAT Calibration Transmitter (ECAT) and a commercial off-the-shelf camera (CAM). ECAT aims to assist in calibrating the upcoming EISCAT 3D radar system, while CAM is dedicated to Earth observation. In addition to achieving mission objectives through our payloads, our project aims to build a foundation for future student satellite projects at Luleå University of Technology and spread awareness of Luleå University of Technology as a space university.

The APTAS project started 2019 and has been worked on by many different generations of master students. Although it has built a tradition and an impressive collaboration between over 100 students from all over the world it does not come without its challenges according to the current students working on the project.

The students were interviewed and answered the questions collectively.

Many students tend to work on it during their entire stay, why?

Project members often indeed join the project well before the actual project course, and often stay long after it. Often the reason is simply that there is always something more to do, and the group is small enough for everyone to see their own hands' work in the output, which motivates to keep going and to do more. Another reason is simply that working on the project is fun and doesn't come with any strings attached, so there's no reason not to continue! The project can also serve as an anchor of stability even as courses change quarter-to-quarter, something to get back to whenever there's a bit of extra time.

What is it like cooperating with students from different cultural and educational backgrounds?

The project is indeed very multicultural due to the yearly influx of international masters students to the Kiruna Space Campus. Out of the current 24 members, 12 are on the civil engineer track (2,5 years in Luleå, 2,5 years in Kiruna) and 12 are on the SpaceMaster track (1st year in Kiruna, 2nd year at another university). However, this is not exceptional on the space campus, as all courses and activities are shared anyway between Swedish and international students. In meetings, everybody speaks English, and generally I would say we blend into the same international working culture which is nowadays commonplace. The varied backgrounds bring together an interesting mix of people and skills, and it's always fun to share cultural peculiarities and anecdotes of living in Arctic Sweden!

What has it been like working on a project that has had multiple generations of students working on it prior?

Information handover is a big challenge for us, as students typically spend only 2-5 semesters in the project. Thankfully the early generations did a thorough job with the design of the satellite, as we still rely on their documentation heavily today. Especially the document package from the project's 2021 CDR (Critical Design Review) is still often referenced today.
For new members, the problem is usually not finding relevant documentation, but rather knowing whether the information is up to date, as often there are updated revisions of documents stored in different places by different generations. Nevertheless, over the years we've developed a comprehensive information package for new members which should help with getting up to speed.

How much do you learn working on the project?

It is an extremely rewarding project to be working on, most of us work on the project outside of university hours just because of how fun it is. Getting to apply concepts we have learned in a practical environment (and not just in course assignments) really hammers home why a given concept is useful. For example, right now some of us are taking the ‘Electronics in Space’ course, and at the same time we are designing and assembling a new version of our ECAT payload, thus applying basic concepts from the course like circuit design to a real-world application.

Another source of learning is the varied background of students and faculty at the Kiruna Space Campus, especially since many master's students are from international backgrounds. Many project members already have deep experience in, for example, electronics design, radio communication or software development, making them excellent teachers and guides in project work.