NTU students to launch satellite Velox-I

IT WILL be a big lift for Singapore when the second locally made satellite - and the first to be built by students - is launched in 2013.

Called Velox-I, it is being put through its paces by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) engineering students in the Undergraduate Satellite Programme (USP) that was started in April last year.

Unlike a typical satellite that can weigh more than 1,200kg, Velox-I is made up of two tiny satellites, one weighing 3.5kg and the other 1.5kg.

Slated to be launched in India or the United States in early 2013, it will have an NTU-designed camera with high-resolution, image-capturing capabilities and be able to conduct quantum physics experiments during its orbit.

The Velox-I project, which includes a student-built ground station on campus that picks up signals from space, has a budget of more than US$300,000 (S$366,000).

'This is not just a prototype, it's going to be up there in space and it's still hard to believe that students such as ourselves are a part of it,' said Mr Tan Chun Kiat, 25, a recent NTU aerospace engineering graduate who had been involved in the project, at the university's unveiling of the satellite yesterday. 'What if there were technical faults during orbit? What if it couldn't withstand the temperatures? We were apprehensive, even nervous, at the beginning, but having it come together piece by piece has been a great and challenging learning experience.'

The team has conducted multiple vibration and space simulation tests to ensure that the contraption can withstand forces up to 10 times that of gravitational force during launch.

The first made-in-Singapore satellite - the 105kg X-Sat - was launched on April 20 after a nine-year collaboration between scientists and engineers from NTU and Singapore's defence research body DSO National Laboratories.

X-Sat has been monitoring environmental changes with images of erosion, forest fire and sea pollution.

Only two other countries in the region - Indonesia and Malaysia - have their own satellites in space.

'We wanted to work on something smaller, not only to lower costs but also to ensure it could be launched in a shorter period of time,' said Associate Professor Low Kay Soon, 49, director of NTU's Satellite Research Centre.

'A smaller and cheaper satellite would also mean we could take more risks in experimenting with its capabilities and be able to test it locally.'

Students get to work with industry partners such as the US Air Force Academy and University of Tokyo.

The USP, which takes in about 50 second- to final-year students annually, is the only space programme of its kind here as space science is a relatively unexplored field. NTU is considering developing the nation's first space engineering courses if interest grows, said Prof Low.

Said Ms Luo Jia Yu, 24, a mentor from NTU's engineering master's programme: 'I had always wanted to venture into space science as it's a mysterious and intriguing world, and this was a rare chance for me to get a taste of it.'

Singapore teams impress at international science competitions

Lin Zhaowei

The Straits Times20 July 2011

SINGAPORE has scored its best-ever showing at two major science competitions for pre-university students, coming in joint-first in the International Physics Olympiad and third in the International Biology Olympiad.

In the nine-day physics competition that ended on Monday, the five-man Singapore team shared top spot with traditional powerhouses China and Taiwan as well as relative newcomer South Korea.

All four countries came away with five gold medals each.

Last year, the Singapore team came in seventh.

Almost 400 pre-university students from 84 countries took part in this year's event held in Bangkok. Winners had to score in both written and practical tests.

The Singapore team comprised Raffles Institution (RI) students Kang Zi Yang, Li Kewei, Lin Jiahuang and Lin Sen, and NUS High School of Mathematics and Science's Tan Zong Xuan. They are all in their final year of study.

It was led by Associate Professor Rajdeep Singh Rawat from the Natural Sciences and Science Education department of the National Institute of Education at Nanyang Technological University, and Associate Professor Chung Keng Yeow from National University of Singapore's physics department.

Mr Li, 19, said the victory showed that the team's hard work over the past seven months had paid off.

'We were very happy because we knew this had never been done before (by a Singapore team),' he said.

'Although the team spent the entire June holidays preparing for the competition and ended up lagging behind in our school work, it was worth it,' added the physics whiz who hopes to enrol in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for undergraduate studies.

Prof Rajdeep, involved in training the Singapore delegations for the past eight years, said this year's team was 'fantastic' because the members were very motivated.

In the International Biology Olympiad, held in Taipei from July 10 to 17, Singapore improved from its ninth placing last year.

Hwa Chong Institution's Javan Lee Tze Han, NUS High's Hong Xinyuan and RI's Jin Chentian came away with gold medals while Michael Sia Zhen Wei of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) bagged a silver. They are all final year students at their schools.