About the Project
TJREVERB is a custom 2U CubeSat designed and built by students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. The project involved extensive work in satellite systems, radio communications, flight software, and hardware design. My team and I developed the CubeSat under a strict timeline and with limited resources, and successfully got it into LEO at the end of 2022.
After TJREVERB's launch, we expanded the club into the TJ Space Program. I ran projects to teach new students CubeSat systems engineering, basic prototyping and electronics skills, and radio electronics (see AMSAT project below). We also partnered with a local ham radio club to get students a radio operator license. I put together part of a cirriculum for the exam and we got 30+ students their license.
Research Paper
Our team published a paper documenting TJREVERB's search and post-launch activities at the 2023 Small Satellite Conference. The paper details the challenges we faced in satellite tracking, ground station operations, and the lessons learned from the mission and how they apply to other student teams.
Resources
Gallery
TJREVERB AMSAT project
TJREVERB's final assembly
TJREVERB flight software flowchart
TJREVERB's student ham radio class
Very sketchy patch antenna testing setup
USNA's groundstation antenna used as reference for our own
TJREVERB Vibration Testing Setup