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Project-based learning applied to spacecraft power systems: a long-term engineering and educational program at UPM University

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Abstract

The IDR/UPM Institute is the research center responsible for the Master in Space Systems (MUSE) of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). This is a 2-year (120 ECTS) master’s degree focused on space technology. The UPMSat-2 satellite program has become an excellent educational framework in which the academic contents of the master are trained through project-based learning and following a multidisciplinary approach. In the present work, the educational projects developed and carried out in relation to spacecraft power systems at the IDR/UPM Institute are described. These projects are currently being developed in the framework represented by the aforementioned MUSE master’s program and UPMSat-2.

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Notes

  1. Máster Universitario en Sistemas Espaciales. http://muse.idr.upm.es/

  2. The IDR/UPM Institute (Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad “Ignacio Da Riva”) was established as a research institution inside Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in 1998.

  3. Also known as UPM-Sat 1.

  4. In fact, the UPMSat-1 mission is not mentioned in the list provided in the work by Swartwout & Jayne. Nevertheless, once informed by IDR/UPM staff in April 2017, Prof. Swartwout committed himself to include the UPMSat-1 mission in future works.

  5. Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery.

  6. Solar Orbiter Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager.

  7. Energetic Particle Detector.

  8. Sistemas de Tiempo Real y Arquitectura de Servicios Telemáticos (Real-time Systems and Telematic Services Architecture). http://www.dit.upm.es/~str/

  9. Electronics Box.

  10. National Institute of Aerospace Technology "Esteban Terradas" (INTA). Spanish National Aerospace Research Agency.

  11. European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System.

  12. This document describes the electrical pairing between the different electrical pins from the on-board hardware connectors of the satellite.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to the all IDR/UPM Institute staff for their constant support. Besides, the authors would like to express their gratitude to Javier Piqueras, Alvaro Alonso, Alejandro García, Alberto Núñez, María Lizana, Borja Torres, Jorge García, Jaime García and Juan Antonio Zaragoza, who being students of the MUSE showed an outstanding commitment to the projects related to space engineering power systems at the IDR/UPM Institute. Additionally, the authors are also indebted to the Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace students Angel Porras and Daniel Alfonso, and the Lab Technician Fernando Gallardo, for their kind help in relation to the UPMSat-2 battery maintenance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad “Ignacio Da Riva” (IDR/UPM), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, ETSI Aeronáuticos, Pza. del Cardenal Cisneros 3, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Santiago Pindado, Javier Cubas, Elena Roibás-Millán & Félix Sorribes-Palmer

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  1. Santiago Pindado
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  2. Javier Cubas
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Correspondence to Santiago Pindado.

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Pindado, S., Cubas, J., Roibás-Millán, E. et al. Project-based learning applied to spacecraft power systems: a long-term engineering and educational program at UPM University. CEAS Space J 10, 307–323 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-018-0200-1

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