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- "body": "[{\"type\": \"paragraph\", \"value\": \"<p>One of the founding values of the <strong><em>McGill Space Group\\r\\n(MSG)</em></strong> is the belief that a comprehensive approach needs to\\r\\nbe taken when furthering human activity in space. For this reason the\\r\\nMSG is a multi-disciplinary group that is comprised of Technical\\r\\nResearch, Design Teams (CSDC, SEDS), and Educational Outreach. With\\r\\nthese different facets, the MSG acts as a key contributor in the\\r\\nCanadian space sector.</p>\\r\\n<h2 id=\\\"csdc_team_and_subteams\\\">CSDC Team and Subteams</h2>\\r\\n<p><img src=\\\"Render31080.jpg\\\"\\r\\ntitle=\\\"Blowup model of the first satellite prototype (StarTrackr) of the MSG (2017).\\\"\\r\\nalt=\\\"Blowup model of the first satellite prototype (StarTrackr) of the MSG (2017).\\\" />\\r\\nThe <strong><em>Canadian Satellite Design Challenge (CSDC)</em></strong>\\r\\nrequires teams to design, build, test and launch a 3U CubeSat in lower\\r\\nearth orbit with a star tracker payload.<br />\\r\\nThe MSG believes that one of the most adequate methods of learning\\r\\nengineering is by working on projects thereby learning the design\\r\\nprocess in a team. The CSDC group provides the opportunity for students\\r\\nto learn through designing and building. By competing in the CSDC,\\r\\nstudents gain experience in many engineering disciplines, they will\\r\\nlearn how to work in a team and will gain various soft skills.<br />\\r\\n</p>\\r\\n<h4 id=\\\"software\\\">Software</h4>\\r\\n<p>Choosing the operating system, the on-board computer and software\\r\\ndesign are few of the many things that the software team needs to figure\\r\\nout. All of which will ensure that we keep track of all processes such\\r\\nas resources monitoring, payload operations, communication between all\\r\\nsubsystems, etc.</p>\\r\\n<h4 id=\\\"communications\\\">Communications</h4>\\r\\n<p>Ensuring a good link between the ground station and our orbiting\\r\\nsatellite is necessary for the mission to be successful. A dedicated\\r\\nteam will design and test the antennas, the communication modules for\\r\\nboth ground station and the orbiter.</p>\\r\\n<h4 id=\\\"payload\\\">Payload</h4>\\r\\n<p>The payload is nothing less than the purpose of this whole endeavor.\\r\\nEvery iteration of the CSDC is a different surprise and it requires a\\r\\nlot of creative problem solving and adaptation from the team members.\\r\\nOur first participation led us to design our very own StarTracker. The\\r\\nsecond iteration consists of an Earth-Observing camera that receives\\r\\nrequests from different institutions such as schools and university to\\r\\ntake a picture of their location.</p>\\r\\n<h4 id=\\\"power\\\">Power</h4>\\r\\n<p>Power management consists of choosing the right solar panels,\\r\\nbatteries for our satellite such that we maximize the energy that can be\\r\\nused by every sub-systems. They also make a power budget for each and\\r\\ndifferent operation modes which will dictate how power gets distributed\\r\\nover the different elements.</p>\\r\\n<figure>\\r\\n<img src=\\\"Render5.png\\\" title=\\\"StarTrackr model concept (2017).\\\"\\r\\nwidth=\\\"306\\\" height=\\\"306\\\" />\\r\\n<figcaption>StarTrackr model concept (2017).</figcaption>\\r\\n</figure>\\r\\n<h4 id=\\\"structural\\\">Structural</h4>\\r\\n<p>The skeleton of our satellite is a crucial part of the competition.\\r\\nThe main purpose is to create, build and test a solid, yet light\\r\\nstructure (30x10x10cm) that's thermally stable, and that can resist\\r\\nmechanical stress due to launch. Since it also acts as the cage in which\\r\\nthe core of our system will lay, it must account for every mounting\\r\\npoints while keeping everything well balance to accommodate control\\r\\nsystems.</p>\\r\\n<h4 id=\\\"controls\\\">Controls</h4>\\r\\n<p>Being able to control a satellite in space is no small feat. By\\r\\nchoosing different control systems, this team will be able to re-orient\\r\\nour satellite in the right direction (for taking pictures or even\\r\\noptimizing our sun alignment), which will allow our satellite to\\r\\nfunction properly and complete its mission.</p>\\r\\n<h4 id=\\\"assembly_testing_and_integration\\\">Assembly Testing and\\r\\nIntegration</h4>\\r\\n<p>None of this would be feasible if we were not to test everything and\\r\\nintegrate our system. By running different simulations/tests, we can\\r\\ndetermine the solidity, reliability of our CubeSat. It is at this point\\r\\nthat we quickly have to re-adjust and re-think some of our designs and\\r\\nmake sure that our system is space-ready.</p>\\r\\n<h2 id=\\\"education_team\\\">Education Team</h2>\\r\\n<p><em>Demystifying outer space, to bring it into the\\r\\nclassroom.</em><br />\\r\\nOur goal, as a team, is to construct different educational programs\\r\\ntargeted for Elementary School, High School, CEGEP, but also for general\\r\\npublic. We want to show, by the means of teaching, that the future of\\r\\nspace is not only reserved to astronauts, physicists and engineers. It\\r\\nis also a future that has a need for other disciplines such as Law,\\r\\nPolitics, Finance, and many more.<br />\\r\\nBy making this a priority in the classroom, we make sure that every\\r\\nyoung student gets to know what they can really bring to the table. Our\\r\\nproject aims to spark the interest of space in schools, and show that\\r\\nspace is not just another far-fetched, or even impossible, dream.</p>\\r\\n<h2 id=\\\"business_and_finances\\\">Business and Finances</h2>\\r\\n<p>While the technical and educational stuff is pretty amazing, none of\\r\\nit could happen without the help of a good business and finance team.\\r\\nLooking for sponsorship, making contact with industry partners, keeping\\r\\nour accounts in the green while ensuring good financial health, allowing\\r\\nthe team to purchase equipment and parts, etc.</p>\\r\\n\", \"id\": \"ed358d28-17ba-45f6-ad0b-265d9e2a5690\"}]",

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- "last_published_at": "2025-11-23T07:11:09.777Z",

- "latest_revision_created_at": "2025-11-23T07:11:09.772Z"