College of the Canyons has been regularly selected as the only community college to participate in NASA’s HASP (High Altitude Student Platform) program and RockSatX missions. The Aerospace and Science Team (AST) initially began 15 years ago as an astronomy and physics club, until a group of students had the idea of applying for the HASP and RockSatX programs in 2015.  

HASP is a program hosted by NASA in which students create proposals for experiments that have the power to make a difference in space. RockSatX is a multi-step program, also hosted by NASA, in which students must go through multiple design reviews to create an experiment for space travel. 

Every year since their first launch in 2016, COC’s AST has been chosen to participate in these programs.  

“Because we have proven our ability to deliver space flight articles that are successful,” said Teresa Ciardi, faculty advisor of the COC Aerospace and Sciences Team

“we are now typically invited and expected to apply to HASP each year, and RockSatX anticipates that we will be participating the next year and looks forward to seeing what we plan to do.” 

This year AST will be launching a total of four experiments at the two events. This is also the first instance at HASP in which an experiment will include student artwork. 

“I have students that have told me when they interview for places like Space X, Milennium Space, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, that every interview question, when they answer those questions, it was not their academics that got them through the interview and got them the job, but rather being able to answer from their experiences of space flight with HASP and RockSatX,” said Ciardi.