DSST’s High School CubeSAT Teams Launch to the Stratosphere

By Scott Goldin

At 3:00 a.m. on a crisp Colorado morning, while most high school students were still fast asleep, a dedicated group of students from DSST Montview High School gathered in a dimly lit high school hallway, hovering around a couple of small satellite payloads on the floor, soldering irons and screwdrivers in hand. By 7 am that same morning, the students were standing in a field in Limon, Colorado, watching as the countdown to launch progressed, and finally beaming with pride as their very own meticulously built CubeSATs lifted off on a weather balloon towards the stratosphere on a mission to gather data from the edge of space.

Students Chase Barta, Saphina Benton, Reid Dawson, and Brooke Mosher holding the tether of CubeSATs before launch.

The program here is part of a broader effort to use collaborative learning experiences at DSST to allow students to take initiative and ownership of their learning. Dr. Gregg Cannady, a pioneer of this educational model, states: “Collaborative Learning Adventures are educational experiences that bring together students, teachers, and industry professionals in a dynamic learning partnership. Students drive the process through hands-on, experiential learning aligned with their interests”.  The DSST CubeSAT program started at our high school, DSST: Montview, and has expanded to include two other schools.

As the teacher facilitator for this student-driven aerospace project, I’ve witnessed the transformation of curiosity into new skills and capabilities. The role of a teacher facilitator is not to direct the students, like they would in traditional classes, but rather to inspire students and guide them towards resources and mentors who can help them drive their learning. Chase Barta, CubeSAT Team Vice President, explained “We are student run with the assistance and facilitation of our teacher Mr. Goldin, which allows me and my fellow students to be in full control and make a lasting impact while learning a lot about the inner workings of STEM companies and developing our own methods and ideas”.

Throughout the year, the students on our CubeSAT team interfaced consistently with the aerospace industry in Colorado and beyond. In October, members of the team flew to Kennedy Space Center to speak at the SmallSAT education conference. Shortly after that, the team once again presented their work at a NASA downlink event with the ISS, in collaboration with the Jekel Foundation and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Later in the year, the team met industry professionals at Colorado Aerospace Day and the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. The team also toured the ULA Centennial facility and the Lockheed Martin Waterton campus, learning valuable information about the aerospace world and building partnerships with industry. As a team, the CubeSAT program excelled this year when we were getting out of the classroom and working in the real world.

Students presenting at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for the ISS downlink event. Pictured left to right, Gary Walker, Jose Talamante, Saphina Benton, Nicholas Subin, Helen Kiflu, Pidge Chavez

Our year-long journey at DSST: Montview High School culminated in a high-altitude balloon launch with Edge of Space Sciences (EOSS), a nonprofit organization that helps make space science accessible for students. Our balloon reached an altitude of 62,000 feet, capturing images and data from near-space, though the team had aimed for 107,000 feet before an early balloon burst cut the mission slightly short. The balloon carried a custom payload meticulously 3D printed, soldered, assembled, and programmed by a team of students. Students were divided into groups, each specializing in a certain task, but often collaborating and working on other aspects of the projects as well. This year, we had soldering, CAD, coding, science, radio, and project management teams all working together towards a common goal. Building the payload was an exercise that required not just technical skills but also built soft skills like learning to work in a team, resolve conflicts, and best practices for project management.

The launch itself was a success, but even more important for our program, the students learned how to develop a mission and a payload, from concept to countdown. According to DSST’s Experiential Learning Program Manager, Gary Walker, the program's goal is for students to “develop the collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that are highly sought after by universities and companies”. Students agree about the benefits of aerospace programs like these. Matias Machele-Holguin, one of our students specializing in project management said about the project,  “Being on the CubeSAT team has made me a more creative problem-solver. I have new interests in engineering and more importantly how can I fix problems in the world I live in”. 

Students Matias Machelle Holguin, Reid Dawson, Chase Barta, and Bethel Getachew recovering the CubeSATs after the launch

As we recovered our satellites from the middle of a field, some 20 miles away from our initial launch site, our students eagerly extracted the data and footage. The footage was breathtaking. It showed the curvature of the Earth. The inspiration was visible in our students -the understanding that they are capable of great things.

Image of the Earth taken by our CubeSAT from our peak 62,000 feet

We’re already planning for next year—designing more advanced payloads and reaching even greater heights. Our students will aim higher, build smarter, and dream even bigger.