Highlights of a growing program

Dove began her talk detailing some of the key activities of the university's Physics Department.

UCF's recent space efforts have included participating in NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission; measuring exoplanets using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope; serving as home to the Florida Space Institute; and most recently leading the consortium that will take over management of the Arecibo Observatory.

"This is big," said Dove, noting that handling big activities is becoming a more common theme at the university.

CubeSat overview

Before talking about UCF's projects, Dove explained what CubeSats were and how they operated. The 60-person audience at Tuscawilla Country Club consisted of local residents rather than a typical "space audience."