NASA Announces High School Competition for Future Engineers:
Teams to Design Software for Small Satellites on the
International Space Station WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire-
USNewswire/ — NASA is challenging high school teams to design
software to program small satellites aboard the International
Space Station. The competition centers on the Synchronized
Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or
SPHERES. SPHERES are bowling ball-sized spherical satellites
used to test maneuvers for spacecraft performing autonomous
rendezvous and docking. Three of these satellites fly inside the
station’s cabin. Each is self-contained with power, propulsion,
computing and navigation equipment. The Zero-Robotics
investigation, run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in Cambridge, Mass., is designed to inspire future scientists
and engineers. The teams are asked to address challenges of
satellite docking, assembly and flight formation. The 2010 Zero-
Robotics Challenge expands on a limited pilot progra