SDG9
The 33rd Satellite Design Contest in Japan, faculty and students from NCKU won multiple awards with outstanding achievements
Students from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics / Graduate Institute, and the Institute of Space Systems Engineering—Yan-Hsiu Liu (劉姸秀), Chao-Hsien Chih (池昭賢), Yu-Hsin Chen (陳喻歆), Yu-Hsiang Chen (陳昱翔), Tzu-Ching Su (蘇子敬), Chih-Yu Lin (林芷伃), Ai-Lin Liu (劉艾琳), and Pin-Yun Li (李品昀) — under the guidance of Professors Wei-Liang Chen (陳偉良教授) and Yu-Rui Liang (梁育瑞教授), participated in the 33rd Satellite Design Contest in Japan. Their project, titled “SATEBAL: A Semi-Passive Orbital Attitude Stabilization System using a Controllable Deployment Mechanism,” applied an innovative concept using a drag sail system for satellite attitude control and deorbiting procedures. In the final round held on November 22, their design stood out and won multiple top awards, including the Design Award, the Japan Rocket Society “Hime Award”, and the Japan Society for Aeronautics and Space Sciences Award.
The competition is an educational space design contest open to university, technical college, and high school students across Japan. It aims to provide participants with a complete hands-on engineering experience—from conceptualization and design to system integration—while encouraging innovative thinking, systems engineering skills, and team collaboration. The event is jointly organized by several leading aerospace organizations in Japan, including the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), the Japan Society for Aeronautics and Space Sciences (JSASS), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Participating teams must first pass a preliminary written review before advancing to the final public evaluation, where they present and demonstrate their projects to a panel of expert judges who select the winners.
The award-winning NCKU team’s design promotes sustainable space practices, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Their innovative drag-sail mechanism supports the advancement of space technology (SDG 9), while the controllable deorbiting approach reduces space debris accumulation and protects the orbital environment (SDG 13). In addition, international competition and collaboration foster global aerospace education partnerships (SDG 17). This achievement highlights NCKU’s active contributions to sustainable space technology and internationalized education.
This year’s final round featured 13 outstanding teams, making the competition highly competitive. NCKU’s success not only demonstrates the students’ exceptional capabilities in satellite mission design, attitude control, and innovative engineering but also underscores NCKU’s international competitiveness in aerospace and space systems education. The university looks forward to continuing to reach new heights in space technology.
The competition is an educational space design contest open to university, technical college, and high school students across Japan. It aims to provide participants with a complete hands-on engineering experience—from conceptualization and design to system integration—while encouraging innovative thinking, systems engineering skills, and team collaboration. The event is jointly organized by several leading aerospace organizations in Japan, including the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), the Japan Society for Aeronautics and Space Sciences (JSASS), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Participating teams must first pass a preliminary written review before advancing to the final public evaluation, where they present and demonstrate their projects to a panel of expert judges who select the winners.
The award-winning NCKU team’s design promotes sustainable space practices, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Their innovative drag-sail mechanism supports the advancement of space technology (SDG 9), while the controllable deorbiting approach reduces space debris accumulation and protects the orbital environment (SDG 13). In addition, international competition and collaboration foster global aerospace education partnerships (SDG 17). This achievement highlights NCKU’s active contributions to sustainable space technology and internationalized education.
This year’s final round featured 13 outstanding teams, making the competition highly competitive. NCKU’s success not only demonstrates the students’ exceptional capabilities in satellite mission design, attitude control, and innovative engineering but also underscores NCKU’s international competitiveness in aerospace and space systems education. The university looks forward to continuing to reach new heights in space technology.
Students from the Department/Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Institute of Space Systems Engineering at NCKU participated in the 33rd Satellite Design Contest in Japan, earning multiple awards and achieving outstanding results.
The NCKU team won the Grand Prize in Design at the 33rd Satellite Design Contest in Japan.
The NCKU team received the Women in Space Award from the Japan Rocket Society at the 33rd Satellite Design Contest.
The NCKU team received the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences Award at the 33rd Satellite Design Contest.
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