Satellite technology students win the ESA "Computer In A Room Challenge"

The task of the challenge was to operate the simulated satellite MELVIN, focusing on innovative operational concepts that enable a high degree of autonomy and resource efficiency.

Over a period of six months, the organizers of the challenge gradually added various task types to a simulation environment, which then had to be managed autonomously. The tasks included mapping regions on the Earth's surface, observing time-critical events, and locating emergency beacons. At the same time, the challenge involved managing limited resources on the satellite, such as fuel, energy, storage, and computational power.

Finally, the last 72 hours of the challenge marked the start of the final evaluation phase. For this phase, the entire simulation environment was reset and filled with a host of new, more demanding tasks. Additionally, access to the satellite was artificially restricted: similar to real LEO satellites, communication was now only possible every 90 minutes for about 10 minutes – truly a stress test for the semi-autonomous software on board.

With 14 out of 17 mission tasks completed during the evaluation phase, the team qualified for the 'CIARC Day' at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt. During the final presentation and subsequent discussion, both the modular system architecture and the efficient path planner impressed the expert jury. Due to the high degree of flexibility, resource efficiency, and autonomy, the team managed to stand out against strong competition and was honored as the winner of this year's challenge