Fall 2026
Subteams
SPACE RACCOON is built by five subteams working in parallel. No experience is needed: every subteam teaches the tools it uses. Pick one (or two) and come to a meeting.
All-team meeting
Tuesdays, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Halligan 145
Stay in touch
- Discord · CubeSat server
- Slack · Tufts SEDS workspace
01
Structures
The chassis, the thermal and vibration analysis, and the orbit it all lives in.
- When
- Fridays, 6:00pm – 7:30pm
- Where
- Nolop
- Machining
- Simulation & testing
- Systems engineering
- Orbital mechanics
This semester
- CAD the GoPro payload parts and boards
- Iterate on the chassis CAD with updated specs
- Thermal and vibrational analysis of the chassis
- Orbital mechanics calculations
- Build a physical model
What you'll learn
- CAD (Onshape)
- ANSYS
- Machine Lab & Makerspace equipment
- FreeFlyer
02
Software
Image processing, flight software, and the neural network that finds debris.
- When
- Saturdays, 12:00pm – 1:00pm
- Where
- Halligan 145
- Image processing
- Flight software
- FPGA development
- Web development
This semester
- Python image processing pipeline, verified and tested
- Port image processing to C
- Contribute to the open-source Generalized ADCS project
- Flight software & FPGA on the new board
- Web development (sub-subteam)
Looking ahead
- Neural network design and development
- A complete, adaptive onboard machine learning pipeline
- Transfer programs of various sizes over RF
- Mission simulation
What you'll learn
- Git & GitHub (issues, PRs, branches)
- Python
- C/C++
- Linear algebra
- Design & development best practices
- Optimization
03
Power
Collecting sunlight and keeping every subsystem alive through eclipse.
- When
- Sundays, 3:00pm – 4:00pm
- Where
- Halligan 145
- Electrical power system design
- PCB design
- Circuit simulation
This semester
- Design an Electrical Power System (EPS) for the CubeSat
- Design PCBs for solar cell power collection and regulation
- Document trade-offs, benefits, and future design iterations
Looking ahead
- Evaluate the whole CubeSat system and EPS efficiency
- Research new methods to improve power collection efficiency
- Discuss industry standards with professionals in the field
What you'll learn
- Altium / KiCad
- PCB design
- LTspice circuit simulation
- Electronic circuit design
- Systems engineering
04
Comms
The radio link between SPACE RACCOON and the ground.
- When
- Sundays, 3:30pm – 4:30pm
- Where
- Halligan 145
- RF link design
- Ground station operations
- Spectrum licensing
This semester
- Select an operational frequency band (VHF/UHF baseline) and document regulatory requirements
- Research and select a compatible transceiver and antenna
- Build a prototype ground station and demonstrate packet transmit/receive
Looking ahead
- End-to-end image downlink using payload data (compression + packetization)
- Environmental testing of RF equipment (thermal, vibration, vacuum)
- An automated operations pipeline to receive, decode, store telemetry, and send commands
What you'll learn
- RF & satellite link fundamentals (antennas, link budgets, Doppler)
- Spectrum regulations & mission operations
- End-to-end data handling (packetizing, decoding, visualization)
05
Weather BalloonNew this year
A giant helium balloon that carries our electronics to near space, about 100,000 ft up.
Meeting time coming soon
A weather balloon is a giant helium balloon attached to a box of electronics. It climbs to near space (around 100,000 ft) and captures incredible footage of the curvature of the Earth, then falls back to the ground a few hours later for us to recover.
It isn't a CubeSat subsystem, but it's an extremely useful way to test electronics and communications systems before we build and launch the CubeSat, which is why many CubeSat programs (including ours!) run ballooning projects.
- Balloon research
- Payload box design
- Launch-day logistics
- Flight tracking
This semester
- Research high-altitude balloons
- Design a simple payload box
- Plan the logistics for launch day
What you'll learn
- Flight simulation
- Balloon filling & launch operations
- In-flight tracking
- Onboard electronics
- HAM radio (get licensed!)
Why join?
- Very beginner friendly: no experience needed
- Build and launch in months, not years
- Bragging rights for sending hardware to near space, far higher than rocketry or commercial flights
- Go as technical as you want