Rocket Science and Satellites by USask Students — Arliss Sidloski, Rosy Hettiarachchi, Dustin Preece, and Layne Ransom

Remember student life—racing across campus, pulling all-nighters, and submitting assignments with 0.1 seconds to spare? Now, throw in some actual rocket science, and you’ve got either an absolute blast… or a very impressive explosion. The USask Space Design Team (USST) is no stranger to both! They’ve got a long history of turning caffeine and panic into aerospace marvels, like rockets, satellites, and other “please don’t blow up” projects.

Most recently, the USST Rocketry team returned from the Launch Canada Challenge in Timmins, ON, with their 10-foot-tall baby, Zenith—still in one piece, thankfully. Oh, and they’re also partnered with SkCubeSat on some satellite shenanigans. You might’ve heard of RADSAT-SK1, Saskatchewan’s very first homegrown satellite which launched in 2023 (yup, it made it to space!), and now the team is brewing up its sequel, RADSAT-SK2, which promises to be just as out of this world!

Arliss, Layne, and Rosy are all in the final stretch of their mechanical engineering degrees at USask, while Dustin is looking for the next big thing, preferably in aerospace. In addition to academic life, Arliss serves as the President of the USask Space Design Team and was the Technical Project Manager for both RADSAT-SK1 and RADSAT-SK2.

Rosy led the Zenith rocketry project this past year as the sole Project Manager and is excited about some major upgrades as the rocketry team gears up for the 2025 competition.Dustin, an esteemed team alumnus, was the Technical Project Manager for RADSAT-SK1. Layne, a former member of the USST executive, was highly involved in the cubesat projects and once held the positions of HR and Communications Project Manager for RADSAT-SK1 and RADSAT-SK2.

Arliss Sidloski, Rosy Hettiarachchi, Dustin Preece, and Layne Ransom are here to show you what happens when students juggle university classes with a passion for aerospace—it’s like balancing a rocket on a tightrope while trying to pass midterms. They’re here to prove that with the right mix of coffee, equations, and rocket fuel, even students can reach for the stars—literally!