“StellarXplorers makes each challenge as realistic as possible. It’s very challenging and competitive.”
A team of high school students at Francis Tuttle Technology Center is one of ten to have qualified for the national StellarXplorers Space STEM Program.
The Francis Tuttle team, STLX11-0206, is the only one from Oklahoma who will participate in the national competition. They had to compete in three qualification rounds to get to the semi-final round. Then by scoring in the top ten in the semi-final round they qualified for the finals and will now travel to Denver for the April 22-26 event.
Deer Creek High School students Kenneth Mok, Maurya Jagania, Blake Davis, Laiphesit Sengvilay, Gabriel Frost, and Putnam City North student Avery Hardy are all members of the Francis Tuttle team. Each member of the winning team at nationals will receive $3,000 each, while the second-place team will receive $2,000, and third place will receive $1,000.
StellarXplorers is a space mission competition, created by the Air & Spaces Forces Association, and full of real-world components. Teams competed in various rounds of virtual simulations that involved putting a satellite in the correct orbit and deciding what equipment and instruments are necessary for a mission based on an established budget and spacecraft weight.
The competition at nationals will require teams to combine their knowledge from previous rounds to solve and optimize the launch operation, satellite component selection, and orbital planning of the scenario mission.
“They learn about different types of satellites and orbits, how to identify the mission objective, identify and examine possible solutions, and evaluate the best option,” Charles Koutahi, Francis Tuttle Engineering Academy instructor and faculty sponsor for StellarXplorers, said. “StellarXplorers makes each challenge as realistic as possible. It’s very challenging and competitive.”
In addition, students who attend StellarXplorers nationals gain a unique opportunity for networking. Not only do they meet with other teams, but they will take trips to companies and facilities within the space and aerospace industry.
Representatives from sponsor companies, such as Lockheed Martin and L3Harris will be there to visit with students and even offer scholarship opportunities.