AggieSat Lab is a student-run organization on Texas A&M University's College Station campus that provides students with space system design experience at the undergraduate level. Using state-of-the-art practices in its Integrated Concurrent Engineering (ICE) design environment, AggieSat Lab is able to give students an opportunity to design, test, and fly fully operational satellites. The lab has many projects underway at any given time. Students can participate in the Air Force Research Lab's Nanosat competition or work with students from the University of Texas to deliver a series of satellites to NASA. The AggieSat team is currently comprised of five graduate students and about thirty undergraduate students from seven different majors and all classifications. The lab program brings about many benefits to everyone who is involved:
- It provides opportunities for undergraduate students of all disciplines and experience levels to learn to team together in real space based research, exploration, and business organization.
- Student-led, faculty-mentored missions provide opportunities for exciting "hands-on" learning and personal development that complement and exceed the educational value of typical classroom experiences.
- The program facilitates mentor relationships between students and the engineering community. NASA, Air Force, and industry personnel work very closely with all student team members. A former Air Force Research Lab Integration and Test expert, Mr. Joseph Perez, is employed full-time by AggieSat Lab to educate the students in all aspects of satellite design and construction, industry practices, and project management.
- Engineering students and business students work together and become familiar and comfortable with each other's skill sets. This allows them to excel above their peers and leaves them better prepared for their respective professions.
- Gives students a chance to become actively involved within the local community and pass along their passion for engineering and space research to those of the next generation.
- Allows students to actively contribute to projects with practical applications. Upon joining AggieSat Lab, students will experience the entire engineering life-cycle, turning early conceptual designs into fully operational space systems that eventually get launched into orbit.
- With design reviews and public speaking opportunities, AggieSat Lab helps students gain the communication skills that will be necessary for success during their careers.
- AggieSat Lab is a unique opportunity for undergraduate students wishing to continue their education after graduation. Many professors throughout the university are working in conjunction with AggieSat to test their experiments in a space flight environment. Students get a chance to experience graduate level research and develop relationships with these professors if they become interested in their area of expertise. Conversely, the professors benefit from the increased student involvement with their work.
- Companies working alongside AggieSat Lab are able to develop long-lasting relationships with the AggieSat Team members and eventually hire some of the most prepared graduates in the nation.