Leadership

Designing, building, testing, and launching a satellite takes a lot of work and requires a lot of collaboration. Here is a look at M-SAT’s leadership.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Pernicka

pernicka@mst.edu

The principal investigator is the professor who works with M-SAT to provide guidance and oversee the satellite projects. The Principal Investigator assists in funding acquisition, initial stages of research, oversight, and publication of findings.

CO – Principal Investigator
Dr. Daoru Han

CO – Principal Investigator
Dr. Jonathan Kimball

Resource Management Team

The Resource Management Team’s main purpose is to ensure the team is running smoothly. In charge of everything that isn’t a satellite, the Resource Management Team manages personnel, funding, equipment, facilities, and everything else outside of technical work.

Student Director

Collin Gentry

collingentry@mst.edu

The student director is a point of contact for all members and serves as the point of contact between team members and the Principal Investigator. The Student Director also leads the resource management teams and guides large-team meetings

External Relations Manager

Alexander Schumacher

aschumacher@mst.edu

Acts as the manager of the team’s social media presence, recruiting, and website. Position also helps organize and run team events with the other team managers.

Proposal Manager

Jordan Ropp

jerm2z@mst.edu

As proposal manager, my job is to help Dr. P and other students write proposals to help fund our missions and our lab equipment.

Lab

Manager

Kannon Rowden

kjrg9p@mst.edu

DEXSTR

DEXSTR is M-SAT’s newest satellite project and therefore has a smaller team to support it’s early stages of development

DEXSTR Lead

Alex Jackson

ajjkr8@umsystem.edu

The DEXSTR lead is responsible for ensuring progress is made on the project and keeps the general team updated on DEXSTR’s status

DEXSTR Software Lead

James Tabony

jrtkdy@umsystem.edu

DEXSTR Power Lead

Daniel Krobath

dpkrhd@umsystem.edu

The Power Subsystem Lead is responsible for the design, analysis, and verification of DEXSTR’s electrical power system, ensuring mission-critical power availability throughout flight.

DEXSTR Command and Data Handling Leads

Emma Smith and Eva Stice

evsgg4@umsystem.edu emsm25@umsystem.edu

DEXSTR Structure Lead

Aidan Johnson

aj34d@umsystem.edu

The structures lead works on leading the subsystem in the creation of a CAD model, structural analysis, and mass budget. In addition they work to make sure that design requirements are met and standards are followed.

DEXSTR Guidance, Navigation, and Control Lead

Wesley “Wes” Morrison

wcmvfp@mst.edu

Leads the selection, verification, and validation of all GNC flight hardware for the DEXSTR cubesat, including its gyroscopes, reaction wheels, magnetorquers, magnetometer, sun sensors (coarse and fine), Earth horizon sensor, and its GPS. Oversees actuator performance characterization and sensor noise/accuracy assessments to ensure the subsystem meets detumble, nadir-pointing, and sun-pointing requirements. Ensures the GNC hardware integrates successfully into the spacecraft bus. Coordinates external communications for the subsystem with vendors such as CubeSpace, manages subsystem documentation and UNP NS-12 deliverable creation, and works closely with the Chief Engineer and Software team to ensure all GNC hardware performs reliably throughout the mission.

DEXSTR Thermal Lead

Brady O’Donnell

bodonnell@mst.edu

The role of Thermal lead involves three primary duties:

1) simulation of satellite temperature change and heat flow across orbits for each mission mode; 2) determination, selection, and procurement of necessary thermal sensors and control devices; and 3) development of procedures for characterizing thermophysical and thermo-optical properties of satellite materials.

DEXSTR Communications Lead

Jordan Ropp

jerm2z@umsystem.edu

The Communications Lead helps educate our team about how satellites utilize radios for communication and also guiding our team to help us stay on track, achieve our goals, and keeping morale high so we can get our work done.

DEXSTR Payload Lead

Alex Jackson