The space station design workshop goes digital - opportunities and challenges during pandemic-times

Abstract

The Stuttgart Space Station Design Workshop, aimed at university students and young professionals, focuses on the conceptual design of a space station in an interdisciplinary and international environment within a limited timeframe. It lasts about one week and has been carried out by the Institute of Space Systems – University of Stuttgart for over 20 years. The goal of the workshop, besides its educational purpose, is to obtain creative solutions from the future generation of space experts. For the participants, the SSDW offers a unique opportunity for learning by doing and to get involved in a space project. Participants do not only need to apply their knowledge obtained during their university courses but also to put in practice and improve soft skills. The workshop starts with some lectures in relevant fields such as Project Management, Systems Engineering, as well as the different subsystems, for example Life Support. The participants are then divided into two teams. To monitor the teams’ progress several milestones and reviews are planned during the week. Several tools, guides, recipes and experts are available during the workshop. Within the team, each member has a specific role, which is defined before the workshop starts, allowing preparation. The mission statement of the workshop changes every year, adapting to the current plans on human spaceflight exploration. The results of the last editions have been presented at international renowned conferences. In 2020, due to the current COVID-19 situation the workshop was cancelled. In 2021, with increasing vaccination rates in Europe, the situation had improved. However, carrying out such an international in-person workshop was still not an option. For that, the core team decided to carry out for the first time the SSDW in a digital form. Adapting the existing workshop to a digital form presented many challenges but at the same time offered many opportunities. This version has allowed to join participants and staff, that would not have been able to attend in-person, and has also opened new possibilities of communication, using currently existing tools. This paper first introduces the main characteristics of the workshop before it presents a comparison between the 2019 edition, which took place in-person, and the 2021 edition, the first digital SSDW. It summarizes the activities that took place during the one-week workshop, the tools used, and the feedback provided by the participants and staff