BAE Systems Intern Remote Sensing Team (BIRST)
From Concept to Launch
The BAE Systems Intern Remote Sensing Team (BIRST) is an after-hours program that provides the Space & Mission Systems summer interns the opportunity to experience the full concept-to-launch program life cycle. Interns design, construct, test, and fly payloads on a variety of flight platforms during their summer internship.
Each year, BIRST provides a fun and social environment for interns to work together on a technical challenge that they can fully own. This opportunity allows interns to work on skills they might not have a chance to learn otherwise during their 10-week internship. It is not uncommon to see a finance intern soldering or a mechanical engineering intern writing code for their payload.
History of BIRST
The BIRST program was incepted in 2009 when we began a partnership with United Launch Alliance (ULA). Our interns developed payloads that flew aboard sport rockets built by ULA interns. In 2016, our interns flew payloads on the Future Heavy rocket which set a world record standing at 51 ft. tall.
In 2017, the BIRST program expanded beyond a single flight platform through the use of high-altitude balloons, provided through Edge of Space Sciences (EOSS).
Initial payloads ranged from inflatable moose heads to solar balloons but have evolved technically over the years to include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), environmental sensor suites, and spectral imagery.
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BAE Systems Intern Remote Sensing Team (BIRST)