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St. Albert student flies high with rocketry

St. Albert's Katherine Lee helps build, launch missile in Norway

A St. Albert student is back from Norway with a high-flying addition to her résumé: rocket scientist.

University of Alberta mechanical engineering student Katherine Lee returned home last week after spending five days at Norway’s Andøya Space Centre building and launching a rocket-powered atmospheric probe.

The St. Albert resident was one of four U of A students picked to take part in the twice-annual Canadian/Norwegian Student Sounding Rocket Program (CaNoRock), which is meant to give people hands-on experience with space sciences.

“The mechanical engineering field is quite broad,” said Carlos Lange, the mechanical engineering professor who co-ordinates CaNoRock at the U of A, and students are encouraged to seek practical field experience through programs like this one. Seeing how in-class knowledge can be applied to something like a rocket gives students that extra push to finish their degrees.

Rockets and race cars

Lee, 21, said she got into mechanical engineering due to her long-running interest in building stuff, whether it be Lego or Science Olympics robots.

“I like seeing things come together in front of me,” she said, and taking something she’s designed in her head and making it real in the workshop.

Lee said she spent last January through August in Bremen, Germany, building an electric race car with Team Bremergy as part of her studies. Working at a facility run by Airbus, she used 3D-modelling and other skills to create the car’s carbon-fibre shell and optimize its suspension system. In July, she got to help assemble and race the car at the Riccardo Paletti course during the Formula Student Italy competition, where it placed 17th out of 100 overall.

“It’s almost cool how quiet it is,” she said, and it was fun to root for her teammates during the event. (She didn’t get to drive the car because she was too short to reach the pedals.)

Lee said she applied for CaNoRock on a whim – she had just got back from Europe and thought she might as well go there again – and saw it as a rare chance to learn about space engineering.

The program saw Lee and about 25 others design and assemble a probe to take atmospheric readings and launch it aboard a decommissioned military missile – a black dart about two metres long and 20 centimetres wide designed to shoot 10 kilometres up.

“We named it the ‘Norw’eh’ for Canada,” Lee said.

Lee said the rocket was a bit more abstract than the electric car, as it had fewer moving parts, but carried with it more pressure to get everything right, as they had only one shot at the launch. She designed the magnetometer for the rocket’s payload – a challenge for her, as she’s more of a mechanical than an electrical engineer – while others worked on its propulsion and telemetry systems.

Launch Day saw her and her teammates waiting some 100 metres away from the rocket holding their breath as a man on the loudspeaker counted down from 10. At zero, the rocket leaped over the horizon in an eye-blink, leaving a solid white trail behind it. A boom like an echoing cannon followed a full second later.

“It was one of the coolest moments of my life,” Lee said.

Lee said she plans to spend some time with her family in the next few months before planning her next work experience venture in January. She’s looking to go international again, but also has her eye on opportunities in Ontario.

Lee encouraged other women to get into engineering, noting she was one of just two women on the electric car team.

“Just because you’re a girl or have a different life experience from some of these guys doesn’t mean your ideas are worse or any less valid.”

Lange said applications for the next round of CaNoRock were due Dec. 4. Email [email protected] for details.


Kevin Ma

About the Author: Kevin Ma

Kevin Ma joined the St. Albert Gazette in 2006. He writes about Sturgeon County, education, the environment, agriculture, science and aboriginal affairs. He also contributes features, photographs and video.
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