The goal of this page is to outline my thought process in navigating the development and subsequent decommissioning of FINCH as UTATs second (Technically 3rd) mission as of Jan 2026. It will also cover my early days and final days in UTAT.
As I sit here and write this; I am still in amazement that this organization….exists. Not because its currently in choppy waters, although that does concern me. But the fact that this kind of team and these Team Goals have been realized is a true testament to how far UTAT has come. In a broader sense it also represents few barriers engineering students now have to do pretty incredible things.
Around this time, FINCH was chugging along on schedule; having exited Phase B. UTATs Second mission HERON Mk. II was gearing up to launch later the same year. In joining the team I recall the environment was incredibly warm, friendly and open to new members. As a member of ADCS, my lead at the time, Khang Nguyen had just presented a trade relating to the purchase of the ADCS 10m and star tracker (For folks that are curious ADCS AIO Module Trade ). As a person who joined just out of curiosity; I was in shock at the dollar figures that were being presented and in all honesty thought an elaborate prank was being pulled on me. Subsequent months would convince me that yes, this group of students were in fact FOR REAL. They really had fund raised (Via the UTSU LEVY for Space systems) and were financially in the position to develop and launch FINCH. This was not just an academic excursion. From there, I was all in and wanted to work, participate, and help in any way I could; both in and out of my subsystem.