Space Technology is an emerging yet comprehensive area which encompasses a wide range of topics and expertise, such as radio-frequency components, control systems, circuitry, power systems, image processing, algorithms, etc.

Building a satellite involves a multi-disciplinary team and represents a complex engineering task which is often viewed as the pinnacle of science and technology. In recent years, satellite development has progressed rapidly from being a large spacecraft (a few hundred kg to a few tonnes) and expensive development, to a relatively small spacecraft (less than 50 kg) and a much more affordable system. This new generation of satellites are often launched in few tens or even hundreds to form a constellation and have new targeted applications such as maritime monitoring, asset tracking, collaborative sensing etc. This new Space Technology (spacetech) industry is known as New Space.

The Space Technology specialisation will equip students for satellite related industries and many other industries such as aerospace, automotive and all the related commercial products.

Requirement

The students are required to complete a minimum of 20 Units, including two core courses and two elective courses.  This specialisation is open to EE and CEG students.

ST Core Course (12 Units)		Recommended Technical Electives  (Choose any two courses, 8 Units)
EE3105 Beyond Sky – New Space Technology and Application (4 Units) EE4002D / EE4002R Capstone on satellite related projects (8 Units)	+	EE3131C Communication Systems EE3104C Introduction to RF and Microwave Systems & Circuits EE3331C Feedback Control Systems EE4115 Remote Sensing and Analysis with Deep Learning Technique EE4218 Embedded Hardware System Design EE4314 Eyes from above: Guidance, Navigation and Control EE4503 Power Electronics for Sustainable Energy Technologies EE4101 RF Communications

Note: For students in the Innovation and Design Programme (iDP), EE4002D/R may be replaced by another 8 Units of Recommended Technical Electives courses of this specialisation, i.e. they will do EE3105 and four courses from the basket of technical electives. These students may work on a topic that is relevant to this specialisation for their final year project (FYP) (EG4301), but the Units from the FYP course will not be counted towards this specialisation to avoid triple counting (common curriculum; second major; specialisation).

Core Courses

EE3105 Beyond Sky – New Space Technology and Application

Students will learn the different classification of satellites, the space environment, orbital mechanics, the building blocks of a satellite, and the various processes of environmental testing to qualify the satellite for space applications. The process of preparing the satellite for launch and operation will also be covered. The various applications of satellite such as remote sensing, GPS, communication and weather monitoring will also be explained.

EE4002D/R Capstone on satellite related projects

Students will have the opportunity to work on challenging hands-on projects involving satellites. Examples of recent projects are UHF Ground Station for Small Satellite Testing and Real-time Operation, Power Management System of Small Satellite, Advanced Control of a Miniaturized Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMG), Development of a Micro-Pulsed Plasma Thruster, Development of a Robust Firmware Upgrade Module for MCU in Satellite Operating in Space, Development of a Mission Planning Software for Operation of a Spaceborne GNSS Receiver, Design and development of a spacecraft simulator, etc.

Elective Courses

EE4115 Remote Sensing and Analysis with Deep Learning Technique

This subject provides an introduction to the use of satellites to perform the remote sensing application using an optical camera or synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Image preprocessing and enhancement techniques will be learnt. Deep learning techniques will be introduced to perform image classification, change detection, etc.

Other courses cover the basic building blocks of a satellite. For example, the RF subjects (EE3131C, EE3104C, EE4101) will provide knowledge on how a satellite transmits and receives telemetry data between a satellite and a ground station which are separated by at least a few hundred kilometres, as well as sending large amounts of data from a satellite to the ground station via a high speed RF microwave data link. The control subject (EE3331C) will be useful for understanding how a satellite controls its orientation based on the conservation of angular momentum. The power electronics subject (EE4503) is also important for a satellite which is harvesting its energy based on solar panels and stores its excess energy via Li-Ion batteries through the DC-DC converters. Embedded hardware system (EE4218) is used for the onboard computer and also as the processing unit for payload data.

Note: NUS policy on Specialisation Double-counting rules

For AY2021/22 intake onwards, if a student double counts Capstone project, e.g., EE4002D/R (8 units), to fulfil one Specialisation and Common Curriculum, then he/she cannot double count any technical elective for that Specialisation and another programme.  This applies to students taking Space Technology (SPT) Specialisation which has a compulsory SPT-related capstone.

Students who are using capstone to fulfil SPT Specialisation, they cannot map any SEP modules to SPT specialisation. 

Students are responsible to check and ensure these rules are abided.