Elon Musk said, "We have two scenarios to choose from. Stay on Earth or become a multiplanetary species." If that's the case, the student research group "Cosmos" is well on its way to meeting this challenge. Michał Witczak talks about what space and aviation enthusiasts are working on.
The student research group "Cosmos", despite its short tenure, already has its history...
Yes, "Cosmos" is a small group, consisting of about 10 people, which was established around 2016 by a group of friends passionate about space and aviation. Initially, we were located in building A18 - where our supervisor, Dr. Makówka, has a laboratory. Now we also have our room in building A20, where most of the projects are assembled and stored.
Our name is a reference to our passion, although I think that now, after the change of the group’s composition, the interests are heading more towards aeronautics.
The change in the scope of interests is also related to the projects you are implementing, right?
Yes. In this case, it's about the stratospheric balloon project, which won't reach space, but will be lifted to a significant height around the boundary of the atmosphere. This is our oldest project, existing since its inception. We are already at the finish line - we are finishing the microcontroller software and assembling it into a whole. Practically all components are purchased, we are just waiting for the software code and the right weather, and above all for permission from the Civil Aviation Authority.
For now, we can be proud of the rocket we built. We showed it during the festival on the Błędowska Desert, where a group of rocket enthusiasts gathered during the holidays, presenting their works.
Is there a project that particularly stuck in your memory?
Definitely the event "We Need More Space", the creator of which is Radek Grabarek. It took place in SkyHub in Lodz in 2019, right after I joined the Cosmos. We were then working with students from the Wroclaw University of Technology, who won the competition for the design of a Martian colony. During the event, they exhibited its model (the colony is called "Twardowsky") and presented a large panel. We also collaborated with students from the Warsaw University of Technology, who constructed and launched the PW-SAT2 satellite.
How can one join you?
Anyone can sign up at any time. All you need to do is contact me on Teams or send an email to sknkosmos@gmail.com. The only requirement is the desire to develop and nurture passion. All competences are acquired in the group.
We have two sections: rocket and balloon. After finishing the balloon, we will probably combine both sections, as we have many people from mechanical and physical fields, and few who are interested in programming. We try to teach it, but we still lack people when it comes to software issues.
I heard that you tried to operate also during the pandemic, when many research groups suspended their activities.
During the lockdown, we wanted to keep in touch and operate as much as we could. The then president came up with the idea to conduct a series of interviews with people from the Polish space sector during the pandemic. With greater or lesser success, we conducted several conversations. We did it online so that people could ask questions in the comments. We were happy with the first ten people and each subsequent one. Although the interviews are not of the best quality, you can find the developed videos on our Facebook. We still have two unpublished conversations, so it's a good time to resume this action.
Does the activity in the research group also provide additional perspectives after studies, on the job market?
In small research groups, we learn multitasking. For example, I carried out such a quick individual project of assembling a promotional film for the virtual days of Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering, TUL. I didn't expect that studying engineering, in a student research group dedicated to construction I would learn to edit films. Working in "Cosmos", on the one hand, you learn to edit text, on the other hand, programming microcontrollers using the arduino system, which I am only learning now at university, in the fifth semester, while in the group I have been in contact with it from the beginning. I think that in the future this openness to various tasks will be useful, especially since various types of cooperation provide soft skills.
As for former students, I think “Cosmos” shaped them. I once talked to one of the graduates who worked for a salary programming one of the components of the international space station, so he certainly realized part of his passion related to space. This is the dream of many of us.
What other plans do you have for the near future?
It's hard to predict what can turn the world upside down in the space and aviation sector. A few years ago, no one expected that Elon Musk would construct fully renewable rockets, and now they are still flying. We implement projects that are part of our passion. Someone shouts: "Hey, let's do the next rocket project" or "Let's make a radio-controlled targeted rocket" and we get to it. Maybe one day it will change our reality.
We will certainly continue the projects that have stopped. The rocket section is working on a 3D printer, which in the future is to print ceramic elements for the next versions of the rocket. We plan to build a hybrid engine, i.e. a combination of liquid and solid fuels. Personally, I dream of starting a project of an airplane model to stimulate the aeronautics segment. Maybe we will also outline a rover project. There are many ideas - whether they will be realized, time will show.
We would also like to popularize knowledge. In the future - I hope - we will organize a conference or lecture. I think it would be a good promotion not only for the research group and TUL, but also for the space sector in Poland.
Interviewed by: Paulina Krygier
Photos: Jacek Szabela, private archive