Students take part in competition by local aerospace company

When a satellite is launched into space, there are several factors that have to be considered. One of those factors is how to protect the satellite from the intense cold and heat that it will encounter on its journey. Local aerospace contractor, Northrup Grumman asked local high school students to consider this and design and construct a device that would solve this issue.

With a $500 budget donated by Northrup Grumman, the Chula Vista High Spartans Physics Force (SPF) team set out to create a device that would block the maximum amount of sunlight once deployed. Their only parameters were that they had to stay under budget, launch the device remotely and the device couldn’t be more than six cubic inches in size.

From the beginning of the spring semester, the SPF went through a design phase where students could provide their ideas and then present them to their classmates. Once all the ideas were in, the group voted on the designs and then with the guidance of physics teachers Patrick Malory and Steven Streifer, they began construction of the device.

“We learned a lot,” said Junior Enrique Estrella. “We learned about the electrical systems and how to work as a team.”
The SPF team took their device to Northrup Grumman and presented their experiences as a team before testing the device. Although the team narrowly missed the top honors in their first year of competition, their second-place finish ensures a donation of nearly $1,000 to the Chula Vista High Science Department.

“We are all very proud of the scientific innovation that the Chula Vista High students displayed,” said Board President Pearl Quiñones. “We’re seeing the aerospace scientists and engineers of the future right in our own classrooms.”