About the Lab

Overview

The Student Space Programs Laboratory (SSPL) at the Pennsylvania State University allows undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to design, fabricate, and integrate space systems. The SSPL provides hands-on projects to apply classroom knowledge to real world, interdisciplinary settings. SSPL students experience working through a complete design cycle and must develop a systems engineering mind-set in addition to their component-level experience.

Founded in August 2006, the SSPL united a long history of student space projects at Penn State. In the past, Penn State students have delivered payloads for multiple high-altitude balloons, microgravity experiments, sounding rockets, and space shuttle “Get Away Specials.” Because of the synergies between projects' development and because of the number and complexity of the projects, the need for a central management structure and systems engineering framework was evident.

The SSPL exists to coordinate current Penn State student space projects and to expose students to the systems engineering process rarely seen in engineering classrooms. The organization facilitates the sharing of resources between projects, effective recruiting to engage students, and improved capabilities to attract future student opportunities. The lab also coordinates education and public outreach to inspire younger students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.