Bangladeshi Students’ Association
Space Travel Analog Research Team (START)
We are the only team at UofT that completed analogous space exploration research on a year-long project life cycle. This year we scoped and implemented of a new stratospheric balloon experiment. The interdisciplinary and self-funded nature of this team provides opportunities for students to interact, collaborate and work with cross-functional teams.
Key accomplishments
New Designs - We designed and manufactured a payload that will enable future research on the impact that Galactic Cosmic Rays have on the human body. This was an intensive 8 month design process where we received feedback from Canadian Space Agency subject matter experts, and we had to custom manufacture a pressurized vessel and implement a temperature control chamber. We also did a series of extensive ground tests.
Workshops Throughout the Year - We were a part of the planning and hosting a four hour workshop for the Annual National Society of Black Engineers University of Toronto Chapter High School Conference. The High School Conference is an event for black students from grades 9-12 to hear about the black student experience at UofT engineering, meet other students with similar interests and participate in an engaging engineering workshop. This year the event was held on Saturday, November 16, and START put together an interactive 4 hour workshop for the students to do.
The group was broken up into six teams of five to complete the following workshops and work with their teams on their design:
- Hands-on workshop: variable LED brightness circuit
- Hands-on workshop: shock absorption calculations and material selection
- Hands-on workshop: Python code to compare various materials according to their thermal and density properties.
CPSIF funding impact
Due to CPSIF funding, in order to prepare for future longer duration missions where space radiation will have greater risks to human health, we were able to design a payload that can maintain the viability of HEK293 cells during a stratospheric balloon flight. We were able to be the first University of Toronto team to participate in the Annual SEDS Stratospheric Balloon Design Challenge.
NSBE High School Conference.
Payload Flight at Timmins, August 2025.
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