Deep dive into the final frontier
Schools
Ninety pupils at an Adelaide school are reaching for the stars after pooling their talents as part of an innovative national business venture.
Getting a satellite into space is on the cards for the Year 7 and 8 students at Mary MacKillop College after they entered a competition created by Adelaide-based Fleet Space Technologies (Fleet) in December.
Launchbox is a hands-on program designed to engage and inspire students to think about a career based on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) subjects.
Sebi and Bianca.
And it’s not all about being good at maths and physics. The two-day program (which is available for free via the Federally-funded Schools Pathways Program) offers a 360-degree approach to space missions, emphasising that the space industry extends far beyond astronauts and engineers and offers career paths across many different fields.
Held at the school’s Tenison Centre, the students were divided into seven teams – all named after trailblazing women in the space industry. One satellite-making kit (RASCube Launchbox) given to each team plus access to an online portal to help them develop their ideas.
Students were given a deep dive into where the earth’s boundary ends and a look at what makes a future frontier space explorer.
The teams created company names, logos and missions with each student assigned a different role, whether it be engineer, scientist or marketing guru.
Mary MacKillop College Careers & VET counsellor, Sandra Mitchell, said the workshop gave students “the optimism to stop seeing space technology and STEM careers as something distant and unattainable”.
“When we provide opportunities for Years 7 and 8 students to visualise themselves as engineers, mission controllers and space innovators, we lift their eyes to emerging career opportunities and empower them to explore vocations that they may never have imagined before,” she said.
The competition has a pragmatic purpose – getting the children to think about how satellites are used and can help address real world problems such as South Australia’s algal bloom, deforestation and remote internet access.
Once the students had come up with a (hopefully) winning formula, they gave a five-minute pitch which includes a one minute video.
The satellites are tiny (12cm by 12cm) with last year’s winning satellites launched aboard a hot air balloon and Fleet drones in front of 1200 students at Summit Sport and Recreation Park, Mount Barker.
Mary MacKillop students are eligible for their satellites and business ideas to be considered in the 2026 competition with the winners announced later this year.
Winning teams will have a chance to launch their satellite at Fleet’s ‘grand finale’ event.
