[LUM#7] Space objective
In 2015, Camille Cambon contributed to the manufacture of the Robusta-1B satellite, which was launched into orbit this summer. This was a formative experience for the former intern at the Montpellier University Space Center, now a doctoral student.
He left Earth at the end of June and passes over Montpellier twice a day, orbiting at 28,000 km/h in the vacuum of space. With palpable emotion, Camille Cambon recalls the launch of the Robusta-1B nanosatellite. The former intern at the University Space Center (CSU) put the finishing touches to the manufacture of this technological marvel in 2015. A cube measuring 10 cm on each side and weighing 1 kg, on which a total of fifty student interns at the CSU worked. Enough to leave a lasting impression on young minds... and confirm a vocation.
"A small part of you in space"
From childhood, in Villetelle in the Hérault region, Camille Cambon has been passionate about astronomy and stargazing. During her engineering studies in La Rochelle, she chose to do her first internship at the University Space Center. It was 2015, and the Robusta-1B student nanosatellite, launched three years earlier, was entering its final manufacturing phase. The student set to work: she tested the solar panels that would be installed on the satellite, integrated the battery, and used 3D printing to manufacture parts for the final tests.
Camille Cambon and her fellow interns then had to wait two years before seeing their collective work fly into space. Following a rocket explosion, the company originally responsible for the launch changed its schedule. On June 23, the satellite finally left Earth from India.
On that day, student interns and CSU supervisors gathered before dawn to watch the launch broadcast on a big screen. Excitement gave way to wonder. "It was strange to see the satellite leave. Something you've touched is leaving Earth, it's as if a small part of you is in space," says the PhD student. Added to the feeling of magic is the pride of a job well done. The satellite, now operational, sends daily signals that collect data on the effects of radiation on electronic components. At the end of its two-year mission, Robusta-1B will fall back to Earth, burning up as it enters the atmosphere.
Absolute rigor
This challenging mission only served to reinforce Camille Cambon's enthusiasm for space. "The constraints are extreme: strong vibrations, heat or cold, vacuum, radiation. Even simple glue can explode in space! Space is very demanding and teaches us to be absolutely rigorous." In 2017, the young woman worked on a new CSU nanosatellite, Robusta-3A. Now 23, she is starting a thesis at the i2s doctoral school on the subject of 3D printing, which holds great promise in the space sector. She then hopes to join a large company such as ArianeGroup or Airbus Defence and Space. Her gaze and her work are always directed towards the cosmos.
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