Asociación Aeroespacial Cosmos: educational impact and returns of a three-year-old student aerospace association

Abstract

Cosmos Aerospace Association is a leading engineering students’ group, located in the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) in Madrid, Spain. Providing a one-of-a-kind opportunity to all varieties of students for both personal and engineering growth, it is one of the few active aerospace student associations in Spain. Within this work, we introduce the achievements, influence and lessons learned from our association in these years. We focus on its educational impact in the environment of the university: not only from the perspective of aerospace-related degrees but also in the promotion of STEM careers on students of all ages. Conceived by undergraduate aerospace students and supported by professors and university staff, Cosmos was born to provide a creative and learning environment in the promotion of our passion for space and science in general. Bringing together students with similar mindsets, it has become a symbiotic platform in which all university actors share their efforts and join forces to enhance the university experience both from a curricular and extracurricular perspective. The association is divided into three main areas: Administration and Legal, Construction, and Education. Each of these areas branch with Projects and smaller teams both transversal and vertically. Under the Construction branch, both aeromodelling, satellite and rocketry projects are found and developed. An autonomous VTOL vehicle and a solid combustion rocket are being designed with internal and external funding. Special mention goes to the design and construction of CosmoSat-1, our very first CubeSat mission, which is now starting to take off. The Education area involves the organization of cultural and educational activities, from coding seminars, hackathons to film forums or Women in STEM days, all of them transversal to the aerospace industry. In this regard, our most ambitious project to date has been SpaceCon URJC: a space-themed conference by and for university students, bringing together professionals from aerospace companies, space agencies, and research groups in a month-long virtual conference. Over a series of presentations and interviews, students can get a glimpse of a variety of possible careers in everything from satellite manufacturing, orbital mechanics, space debris, and everything in between. With an initial run in 2020, SpaceCon has been repeated in 2021 with great success. In short, COSMOS, while promoting a passionate interest for Space, has become a common meeting point for students and professors outside the fixed and fitted courses, where creativity can boom and grow.