Photos: Students’ hard work goes up, up and away in 3rd annual USM CubeSat Design competition

Students from a dozen middle and high schools competed in the University of Southern Maine’s third annual CubeSat Design Competition on Saturday at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington. A balloon took student-designed microsatellites to an altitude of about 120,000 feet, with the launch testing mission planning, engineering design, and performance of the student-built cubesats (a class of small cube-shaped research satellites, often weighing less than 3 pounds).

Posted May 27, 2023

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A dozen middle and high schools competed Saturday in the University of Southern Maine’s third annual CubeSat Design Competition at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington. University of Maine student Martin Guarnieri pours water into a jug that will be used to determine if enough gas is in the balloon to support the middle school teams’ microsatellites. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Dylan Cobb of Bruce M. Whittier Middle School in Poland holds a gas-filled balloon prior to launch Saturday morning in the third annual University of Southern Maine CubeSat Design Competition held at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington. Scott Eaton of USM says the competition was originally to take place at USM’s Lewiston-Auburn campus but had to be moved due to the weather. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Rick Eason with UMaine’s high altitude balloon program is seen Saturday morning at the Mt. Blue High School athletic fields in Farmington. He is explaining how to track the location of the gas-filled balloon used in the third annual USM CubeSat Design Competition which tests small satellites designed by middle and high school students. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Students from Maine elementary and middle schools hold their satellites Saturday morning while competing in the University of Southern Maine’s third annual CubeSat Design Competition at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington. A gas-filled balloon will be used to carry the devices to an altitude of about 120,000 feet to test their design and performance. USM’s Scott Eaton says the balloon is expected to land in the Damariscotta/Wiscasset area. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Moments before lift off a gas-filled balloon carrying small satellites built by middle school students is seen about 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning on the Mt. Blue High School athletic fields in Farmington. The competition saw 24 teams from around the state apply with 12 to 14 selected to test their satellites. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

A gas-filled balloon floats skyward Saturday morning after launching from Mt. Blue High School athletic fields in Farmington. The balloon is carrying small satellites designed by middle school students as part of the University of Southern Maine’s third annual CubeSat Design Competition. By noon, a tracking device on the balloon was showing it had made it past Richmond and was floating at an altitude of 882 feet. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

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