My Experience at the University of Hawaii

Today I went to the UH School of Engineering.  When I got there I met with Dr. Wayne Shiroma and his team. He is the head of the CubeSat program at UH.  We were able to get a tour of their lab and be able to see what they were working on and compare it to what I have done.  

While I was there I was offered some incredible opportunities.  I won't get into details now but I have a chance to get a great head start in this industry.  One thing they made very clear is that they want me to come to UH when I graduate high-school and get involved in the CubeSat program there.  They made a very convincing case and I am giving it some serious consideration.

With all the things I heard today I am going to have a hard time sleeping.

Our Visit to the UH Hawaii Space Flight Lab

We arrive at the UH College of Engineering.

Bryan sets up his project in the electronics lab.

Bryan begins his presentation for Dr. Shiroma and his team.

Justin gives Bryan a tour of their clean room and current Cubesats.

David Beers and Dr. Wayne Shiroma have been such an encouragement to Bryan! THANK YOU!

Bryan & Scott at the District Science Fair

Bryan and his good friend Scott are both advancing to the State
Science Fair in April.

Last push before District Science Fair

 

 

New relays and an ON/OFF switch.  Bryan also demonstrates the video is working on the satellite and transmitting a signal to our TV.

Done! (Again)

Yay the cubesat is fully operational!  I ended up having to buy new relays from radio-shack and switch them out with the old ones.  The only problem is that my APRS relay is kind of sticky.  This means that I have to tell it to turn on, then flick the board repeatedly until the light goes on.  

I got the ATV and APRS both working simultaneously.  Tomorrow I go to set up my project after school.  I am just going to set up the board. Tuesday is the judging.  I am going to bring my cubesat, the laptop, and a small, unused TV that we found to demonstrate the at my ATV works to the judges. 

Small Changes for Distict

Today I added a power switch so I can turn on and off the device without having to plug and unplug the power.  I am having trouble turning on and off the APRS and ATV using the basic stamp and am hoping to figure that out tomorrow.

APRS Data

Here is a quick screen shot of how my Cubesat looks on an APRS map. Like the icon?

Cubesat awarded honorable mention!

Bryan's Cubesat project was awarded an honorable mention at the Hanalani Science Fair. All the first place finishers were recommended for entry to the District Science Fair, but the judges specifically recommended Bryan's project be included as well (the only non-1st place finisher going!).

We are also pleased that the 1st place finisher in Bryan's age group is his good friend Scott. He won 1st place for a behavioral research project about the effects of mobile phone use while driving. Bryan's brother Bradley also submitted a beautiful science fair board this year about rat intelligence (his first science fair ever!)

The District Science Fair begins on February 9th.

Congratulations Bryan!

Mission Complete!

It is done!  It's up to the Hanalani judges now to decide who goes on to the District Science Fair.  Bryan says the competition is tough this year.  Bryan has learned so much that this project is already a success.  Enjoy the photos!

 

 

Beginning the display board

 

 

Last Days of Construction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Done!

The satellite is now completed!  I completed the power board we eventually  fit everything in between the relays and got all the pins to stay in place.  We would put the power board in, realize something doesn't work, disassemble it all, fix whatever doesn't work, and put everything back into the case.  We did this about three times.

Its a really tight fit.  Everything has to be squeezed in.  After I put them in I have to use needle-nosed pliers to squeeze between the boards and plug in the leads.

I need to build the board and construct the full program even though I will never be technically able to run it with this microprocessor.  The best I can do is to tell the emulator on the PC that I have the needed memory then test it to see if it would have run.

1st photos after construction.

1:30 A.M.

Its 1:30 am.  I just finished making the actual satellite.   The programing still needs some work.  Tomorrow I have to start and finish my board.   More details to follow.