Valparaiso University signs on to NearSpace Education’s Dream Big Program

Valparaiso University is a late addition to NearSpace Education’s Dream Big Program following a previous participating university leaving the project. Valparaiso University joins Western Michigan University, Notre Dame, Purdue University Fort Wayne, the University of Toledo, and Taylor University for the project, which, according to the stated mission of the project on its website, “intend[s] to expand the opportunity for students to operate space-based programs in orbit!”

According to an article on Valparaiso University’s website, Dan White, Ph.D., who is an assistant professor of electronic and computer engineering, believes the impact of the university’s participation in this project will be beneficial for multiple reasons. White is quoted as saying, “I see this as a recruiting effort, both for the University and for the satellite team. If you really want to build a satellite as an undergraduate here, you have to start early. If people are thinking about building satellites at Valpo while they’re in high school, that would be great.” 

Valparaiso University was able to join the Dream Big program following another university vacating their spot in the program. White and his students were able to meet with representatives from NearSpace while they were attending the 2024 Small Satellite Conference in Utah for a different project. When the other school dropped out of the project, NearSpace remembered meeting the Valparaiso professor and students and extended the offer to join the Dream Big program.

As part of the program, the Valparaiso University team will construct a radio communication system that will allow ground stations in the SatNOGS network to be able to access and download satellite data. The process of communication between satellites and the ground station is relatively difficult, as the communication goes only one way: ground stations can’t “talk back” to the satellite. Valparaiso students will be tasked with developing the components that will go into this communication process. Their deadline for this task will be April 2025.

NearSpace will be providing the other components of the machine beyond the communications payload Valparaiso University is developing, something that White believes is “reducing the risk” of the team’s participation in the mission. While that may be true, White and his students will have to be extremely precise in the planning of their task, as the weight limits of the satellite call for the students to use computer aided design to help account for every bit of weight their design will add to the satellite.

Additionally, the students will be participating in high-altitude balloon launches throughout the academic year that will also serve as a recruiting event of sorts, as White alluded to. Local K-12 students will be able to witness the balloon launches and begin thinking about their own space-related interests.

Ben Jones, on track to graduate in 2025, said of the opportunity, “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. The big impact I see is not only being able to help my career with this amazing opportunity but helping others who are interested in space technology get that opportunity to learn as well and that’s why I’m excited about the future.”

For more information about Valparaiso University, visit the school’s website.