Stellar design: The story behind Project Airlock

Of the four designs submitted by engineering programs, the one put forward by the U of R team was judged to be the most innovative. The group took a calculated risk, Norton says, with a design that represented a departure from both current standards in the space industry and from what their competitors were doing.

One of the biggest differences was that they used a plastic, polyetherimide, for many of their core components rather than aluminum. This was cheaper, because they could manufacture the pieces themselves using a 3D printer rather than hiring a machinist. The resulting components were both lighter and stronger.

“Our rationale was that if we do something that’s ‘out there’—worst-case scenario, we just lose the competition,” says Norton. “It was a Hail Mary. We weren’t afraid to try some things that were unorthodox to try to get an edge.”

With U of R workshop space at a premium, the team ended up developing their prototype in the basement of a building at Regina’s tech hotspot, Innovation Place. Team member Megan Turluk secured the lease in her role as director of acquisitions and distributions—a position that she says taught her a host of new skills, from sourcing materials (a major challenge with pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions) to financial management, trade agreements, woodworking, and even some web design.

“The most rewarding thing for me was the opportunity to engage in disciplines I previously had not been exposed to,” says Turluk, who is still working with the team, despite having transferred to UBC.

LEADING THE WAY

While his official title was team lead, Norton says his role was whatever it needed to be to keep things moving forward. He recruited and trained new team members—the latter responsibility often requiring him to first learn the material himself. He pitched in on much of the structural design. And he designed many of the manufacturing processes used by the team.

Anwit Adhikari, who led on a couple of the project’s main technical challenges, says designing and prototyping an airlock has lots of moving pieces. Given the project’s complex nature—four separate task teams each focused on a specific element—it was important the team have a leader able to keep multiple balls in the air at all times.