Stanford’s Student Space Initiative Group Sets Up Shop in HEPL South/End Station III
An energetic group of Stanford undergraduate and graduate students comprising the Stanford Student Space Initiative (SSI) has set up its office/workspace in a warren of rooms on the third floor of HEPL South/End Station III.
Founded in 2013 and now having over 200 members, SSI is a completely student-run organization with the mission of giving future leaders of the space industry the hands-on experience and broader insight they need to realize the next era of space development.
SSI is organized into six teams: High-Altitude Balloons, Rockets, Satellites, Biology, Operations and Policy. Based on their interests and academic specialties, students participate in space-related projects and activities, which range from building and launching high-altitude balloons and rockets to developing a Why Go To Space class in the Stanford Aeronautics and Astronautics Department to inviting speakers from NASA and aerospace companies such as Space X to give presentations. In 2016, a high-altitude balloon launched by the SSI Balloon team from Holister, CA flew for 79 hours, landing in Quebec, Canada—setting a new world record for the longest latex high-altitude balloon flight.
