Building Satellites in Space: A Harvard Undergrad Engineering Project

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Yeah, my name is Michael Kuhl. I'm studying  mechanical engineering and this is my thesis project, which is a locker mechanism. So,  it's a satellite, a payload that will go to space and then has the capability to assemble  other satellites while on orbit. So, it houses these modules, which are subcomponents that can  come together, make up cube sets which are then deployed and operate as independent satellites on  orbit. Yeah. So this is a project that's ongoing at MIT, based out of one of their laboratories  called Star Lab. The PI is Carrie Koy, and my adviser is James Tingley, and they were um great  on letting me come on board and look at will this payload will survive the conditions of launch.  So, this is an awesome project that's ongoing, but we need to get it to space. And so, how do  we make sure it can survive being on a rocket and going through the treacherous conditions of  launch? It was incredible. There's an incredible team of Harvard staff through the ES100 class  itself, people in the machine shop, I classmates, everybody's super supportive in kind of helping  each other arrive at their final design solutions.

[00:01:13]It's a daunting task finishing a thesis and this  ES100 project. But I had an incredible network of people supporting me, and being able to work on  something that may go to space at some point is very exciting, and there's a lot of purpose behind  it. So yeah, it was a great experience overall.

[00:01:31]After Harvard, I got into MIT through a  Space Force scholarship. And so I'm going to be working in the same lab that is working  on this project. And so I'm very excited to be there pursuing a master's degree for the next two  years before I continue my service in Space Force.