In the dim light of the projector, students gathered in the auditorium on Wednesday, Nov. 8 to learn about Jefferson’s, and the world’s, first high school satellite, TJ³Sat.  The satellite, which is no bigger than 10x10x11 centimeters, began as a project in 2006 and seven years later, it has finally made it to launch week.

Senior Rohan Punnoose, who is the final systems engineer to work on this project, described the multiple stress tests that the satellite went through such as a vibration test which will simulate the intense forces the cube will be subject to during the launch.

“There were a lot of challenges working on this project,” Punnoose said. “But as an aerospace person, I just had to take the opportunity when it came up.”

The launch will be held Nov. 19, at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.