Recently, during the 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2023), a team from Beihang University won the championship in the 2nd Space Universities CubeSat Challenge (2nd SUCC).The award ceremony, jointly organized by the Chinese Academy of Astronautics and the International Astronautical Federation, presented awards to the two teams that tied for the championship.The Space Ranger team from Beihang University was one of the winners, and their work would be launched by a Chinese rocket free of charge.
With Chen Pei, Jia Guanghui, and Zhao Guowei as the instructors, the Space Ranger team was formed by 11 undergraduates from the School of Astronautics in Beihang University, including Zhou Ziyu, Xie Yang, Wu Xu, Liu Pei, Chong Kehan, Huang Chengfei, Ma Congzhou, Gong Zeyu, Xu Silu, Zhao Zebei, and Nong Yuanshan (3 of them became first-year graduate students in September this year). The team is committed to establishing a global space debris monitoring constellation through international cooperation, contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to mankind’s peaceful exploration and utilization of space. Their entry, CubeSat for Space Debris Surveillance, is a 3U CubeSat with two unique payloads for optical observation and impact based micro-debris detection. Beihang is the only Chinese university participating in this year's IAC conference and exhibited various items, including APSCO Student Small Satellite (APSCO-SSS-1), Space Ranger CubeSat hexapod robot, ILT-50 electric thruster and other exhibits in the Chinese Space Pavilion, which attracted the attention of many experts, enterprises and governmental organizations at home and abroad.
The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is an annual conference organized by members of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) to foster dialogue among scientists worldwide and support international cooperation in all areas of space-related activity. It enjoys the reputation of “the Olympics of space industry”. The 74th IAC was held in Baku, Azerbaijan in October 2023 under the theme Global Challenges And Opportunities: Give Space A Chance. The IAF, founded in 1951, has about 500 members from nearly 100 countries, including space agencies, companies, social groups, associations and societies.
Reviewed by: Li Jianwei
Edited by: Jia Aiping
Translated by: Hu Xueyang
