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19 January 2021

Out-of-this-world work experience for high school students

High school work experience students (from left) Bhavya Gupta, James Koval and Ashley Sonntag with Aerospace Engineer Alex Priest.

Three South Australian high school students are exploring the exciting career opportunities on offer in the Australian space industry.

Ashley (Nuriootpa High School), James (Immanuel College) and Bhavya (Plympton International College) were selected to participate in the 2021 South Australian Space Industry Work Experience Program that commenced on Monday at Lot Fourteen.

Throughout the week, the students will see how three South Australian space companies – Inovor Technologies, Myriota and Neumann Space – are working to build a thriving space sector for the benefit of all Australians.

On their first day at Inovor Technologies, Ashley, James and Bhavya received a tour and explanation about satellite technologies from Aerospace Engineer Alex Priest.

They also worked on a project under the supervision of Spacecraft Software Architect Daniel Wardle to understand how satellites detect their attitude (or orientation) in space and developed software to demonstrate it on the ground.

Spacecraft Software Architect Daniel Wardle talks through the satellite software practical.

Ashley said: “It’s exciting to see the collaboration between everyone at Inovor; there is good communication and team spirit, and everyone is involved in what’s happening in the office.

“I would like to work in this environment in the future.”

Bhavya added: “It’s fascinating to see all of the pieces of a satellite and how they fit together and to know it’s actually going up there [into space] is amazing.”

Inovor Technologies Operations Manager Ben Adams emphasised the importance of providing students with a hands-on learning experience.

“As a company, it’s very important to us that we help students to understand they can definitely pursue a career in space here in South Australia and what that career could look like.

“Giving students the chance to see it for themselves is, by far, the best way to spark excitement for science and space-derived data and technologies as a means to solve problems on Earth.”

About the South Australian Space Industry Work Experience Program

The 2021 South Australian Space Industry Work Experience Program is run by the Department of Education’s Advanced Technology Program in conjunction with industry and the South Australian Space Industry Centre (SASIC).

Student applications for 2022 will open in late September/early October and will be advertised on the SASIC website.