Status: Concluded
Project Overview
Unlike the other projects in the AggieSat numbered dynasty, AggieSat5 never officially existed. Some time after the end of AggieSat4 operations, the next major project in AggieSat Laboratory was Space Assembled and Manufactured Satellite (SAMS). The main goal of SAMS was to develop a 1U structure that could be 3D printed on the International Space Station, assembled and integrated with avionics by astronauts, and launched into space. SAMS started as a partnership with a private company, but that company eventually moved on from the idea, and lab member interest shifted to the newly announced NanoSat-10 (NS-10) cycle of the University Nanosatellite Program (UNP). When the students had to choose a name for the satellite they were proposing to UNP NS-10, they looked at the history of past projects: AggieSat1 – no launch to space, AggieSat2 – launch to space, AggieSat3 – no launch, AggieSat4 – launch, and developed a superstition that only the even-number satellites were destined for space. As such, they skipped the name AggieSat5 and submitted a proposal for AggieSat6. Years passed, and the true story of AggieSat5 (real name SAMS) became little more than a lab legend. However, there’s still physical evidence of that project in AggieSat Laboratory – just look for the 3D-printed 1U structures in the museum.