HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

133

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, AND GOVERNOR’S SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT AND PROMOTE THE HAWAII CUBESAT PROJECT.

 

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii's College of Engineering offers the only accredited engineering program in the State of Hawaii, providing a quality education for students interested in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering; and

WHEREAS, undergraduate students not only excel in the classroom, but also participate in hands-on experiences such as building a concrete canoe, designing and constructing a micromouse, or human-powered vehicle to broaden their education; and

WHEREAS, increasing enrollments reflect the interest in engineering studies due to employment availability and higher starting salaries; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii's College of Engineering is participating in a project done almost entirely by undergraduate efforts, tasks usually reserved for graduate students; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii CubeSat is a project with the goal of designing, fabricating and testing a cubic nanosatellite that is a 4-inch-square aluminum cube powered by a system of solar panels, and contains high-tech communications gear, magnets, digital photo equipment and temperature and X-ray sensors that will take pictures of both the sun and the Earth; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii is one of about a dozen American universities working toward putting small satellites aboard a Russian missile next year that will carry them to orbits 200 miles or more above Earth; and

WHEREAS, the satellite is scheduled to be launched on April 2003 by 51 University of Hawaii engineering students who have been divided into six teams, each with its own goal; and

WHEREAS, with a capable group of professors standing by as advisors, each student is a part of one of the six components of the project contributing to either the computer, sensor, communications, science, power or mechanical team; and

WHEREAS, transmissions to the satellite can only take place during overhead passes and will make as many as five 15-minute passes over the islands daily at 200 mph, and remain in orbit up to a year; and

WHEREAS, part of the vision for this project is to involve elementary school students in assisting in controlling the satellite, operating buttons to transmit voices and receive data or at the very least, shooting their voices into space and having them come back; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii students must raise $100,000 to finance the project, including $50,000 for launch fees, $15,000 for parts, and $35,000 for summer stipends, $10,000 of which has already been contributed by the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, that the University of Hawaii, Department of Education, and Governor’s Special Advisor for Technology Development are requested to support and promote the Hawaii CubeSat Project; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, President of the University of Hawaii, Superintendent of Education, Governor's Special Advisor for Technology Development, and Dean of the College of Engineering.

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

UH College of Engineering; CubeSat Project