• Research , Student

New TU/e team wants to go into space

For many students, it's like a dream and often remains a dream: working on aerospace engineering. However, this dream can come true for a couple of students from the TU/e. Head of the Syfly team since 2020, Aabharan Hemanth, starts a new, ambitious project named ‘Aster’. With Aster, students can build a satellite and upgrade their knowledge about aerospace engineering.

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photo Alexander Morrisovich / Shutterstock

“This is a great research area to be active in”, says an enthusiastic Aabharan Hemanth. He graduated last year from his bachelor Industrial Design and took part in the honors program of High Tech Systems. At the moment, he is the teamlead of Syfly which is also part of the honors program. With Syfly, fifteen students build a system that collects real-time data from all over the world with help from drones.

“I have always had a passion for space," Hemanth says. "There is something magical about it and there is so much to explore and to discover. Next to Syfly I saw the opportunity to start this new project that focuses on space. A dream come true!”

Booming industry

According to Hemanth, the space industry is booming nowadays. “Everyday, new things are happening in this industry and new techniques are being tested. Also, from the point of climate change, the interest in space engineering has grown. On the long run, space engineering can offer many solutions for the climate crisis.”

Aabharan Hemanth. Photo | Private collection

Because of these reasons it's important to bring students at TU/e in contact with these innovations, according to Hemanth. ”An additional benefit is that aerospace engineering is less expensive than a couple of years ago. It makes it more accessable and it is easier to integrate aerospace engineering in the curriculum," says the from origin Indian student.

Aster

With the Aster project, students are going to build a satellite. “By building a satellite, students are becoming familiar with all the steps that are necessary to launch an object into space. And on top of that, they can work with all sorts of techniques and innovations that are important to know when becoming an engineer.” It is Hemanth’s intention to launch the satellite with other pilots into space. What the other pilots may contain is not clear yet.

However, before Aster can truly start, a lot of work needs to be done first, starting with forming a team. “At this point we're in the middle of the start-up fase and also looking at the financials. The next step is to recruit students, after which we can start.” Hemanth has the ambitious goal to launch the satellite within two years time.

If you want to know more about this project, or if you're interested to be part of the team, keep your eye on the website of Aster. Soon an online meeting will be organised with the purpose to recruit team members.

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