ValiStudents | FOCUS, Universidad Nacional de San Martin

Students from all over the world are using Valispace to manage their engineering data.

Next on ValiStudents we hear from FOCUS, a satellite building student initiative from UNSAM in Buenos Aires. They tell us about the purpose of the satellite constellation they are attempting to build, lessons they’ve learnt from NewSpace and their thoughts on Valispace. Thanks for the updates and good luck with the project 📡

Introduction

The FOCUS Project started as a result of the initiative of a group of students from the Universidad Nacional de San Martín (Buenos Aires, Argentina) who seek, from the academic environment and supervised by professionals and experts in the development of space systems: to design, build and operate a constellation of small X-band SAR satellites.

The purpose is to monitor critical structures, such as bridges and dams, through the use of differential interferometric analysis of SAR images in order to provide early-warnings to save lives and prevent both environmental disasters and material losses. 

Project progress

FOCUS seeks to implement the Agile-Lean methodology to achieve, in the shortest possible time the development of a SAR constellation for differential interferometry with the objective of monitoring critical structures. This is done by applying agile, concurrent and parameterised tools to the project. The FOCUS project is essentially developed on the basis of NewSpace concepts, following the path of the world’s leading space companies. 

Our first milestone is to implement a validated and verified C-band SAR antenna by December 2021, which will allow us to move forward to the next step: assembling a X-band full engineering model having already acquired the necessary knowledge and the skills to recognize defects in the early stages of development. 

Why Valispace?

Valispace offers a global solution to the management of a space project, allowing us to implement the Agile methodology in a natural and seamless way. The set of tools and functionalities available allows us to integrate all the different teams in an organic and concurrent way. 

We found the integration of Valispace easy and intuitive, and the technical support proved to be reliable, accurate and with personalized assistance. 

Valispace proves to be a cutting-edge tool with a very promising future. 

Future plans

We’re working on the training of future space professionals and we believe that there’s no better way to do this than through the experience of participating in real projects. In the future, we wish to find sponsors who share our vision and would like to support us with resources that will allow us to expand our team, have access to facilities and acquire the components needed to reach space and implement our system. Valispace is already one of them, for which we are very grateful. 

Are you part of the ambitious new generation of students that are looking to increase accuracy in engineering data and build products faster? Visit valispace.com/education to find out more and get your free educational license.