Jefferson prepares to launch first ever high school satellite
On Nov. 8, Energy Systems Lab Director Adam Kemp and senior Rohan Punnoose give a presentation about the satellite in the auditorium on Nov. 8.
November 10, 2013
In the dim light of the projector, students gathered in the auditorium on Wednesday, Nov. 8 to learn about Jefferson’s, and the world’s, first high school satellite, TJ3Sat. The satellite, which is no bigger than 10x10x11 centimeters, began as a project in 2006 and seven years later, it has finally made it to launch week.
Senior Rohan Punnoose, who is the final systems engineer to work on this project, described the multiple stress tests that the satellite went through such as a vibration test which will simulate the intense forces the cube will be subject to during the launch.
“There were a lot of challenges working on this project,” Punnoose said. “But as an aerospace person, I just had to take the opportunity when it came up.”
The launch will be held Nov. 19, at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.
![Kai Wang conducts Symphonic Orchestra as the first Jefferson orchestra performance composed and conducted by a student. Everyone in the ensemble dressed in red to symbolize good fortune and joy for the Lunar New Year. “I was just proud of him, because [the piece] was such quality,” orchestra director Allison Bailey said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG_0893.jpeg)
![Sophomore Holly Huang twirls a ribbon as she performs her dance, “Joy of the Dragon.” Chinese ribbon dance is a traditional art form originating in ancient China. Her ribbon dance was inspired by the revered mythical creature and this year’s Chinese zodiac sign, the dragon. “My ribbon symbolized a dragon flying in the air. My outfit was [also] inspired by the dragon, the color was the same color as my ribbon, but on the shoulder there were some details like dragon scales,” Huang said. “I liked how there were a lot of people in the audience and it was just really fun to perform.”](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG_0964-1-600x387.jpg)