Student Expectations from Participating in a Small Spacecraft Development Program

The number of small spacecraft development programs in the United States and worldwide have increased significantly over the course of the last 10 years. This paper analyzes reasons for the growth in these programs by assessing what student participants hope to gain from their participation. Participants in the OpenOrbiter Small Spacecraft Development Initiative at the University of North Dakota were surveyed at the beginning of an academic year to determine why they were planning to participate in the program again or join and participate for the first time. This paper presents the results of this survey.