学进去

On Dec. 28, a small satellite(卫星) was launched(发射)into space from Taiyuan, Shanxi. It was big news for students at Beijing Bayi School. After all, they designed the satellite.

With the help of space scientists, more than 30 students built this satellite (12 cm long, 11 cm wide and 27 cm tall). This is the first satellite designed and built by middle school students in China.

This August, the school worked with the China Center for Aerospace Science and Technology International Communications(CCASTIC 中国航天科技国际交流中心) and started the satellite program. It allowed space experts to teach students about basic knowledge of satellites.

After several months of hard work, students designed their own satellite. Their main achievement was the design of the satellite’s functions (功能) in space. “We worked together and came up with more than 10 ideas. But after tests and experiments, we settled on four,” Zhu Xun, 16, told Beijing Evening News.

Indeed, they have to consider the weight of the satellite. The satellite will stay in space more than 180 days. Its functions include taking pictures of Earth, radio communication and sending information to Earth. The students hope that the satellite can take photos of smog, typhoons(台风) and other weather conditions.

The students were divided into five groups. The group members worked closely to make satellite models. “Every time we think the satellite we are designing will fly into space, we are so excited and try to do experiments,” said Shen Shulang, 17. They also visited the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other organizations to get inspiration(灵感).