What makes a space engineer: can we develop engineering habits of mind in a high school satellite project?

In past years the science education community has put an emphasis on STEM projects that are implemented in high-schools. There have been calls to design ways to integrate these different subjects within the school system along with too few solutions as to how to achieve this goal. This research aims to develop engineering habits of mind among high school students participating in an innovative nanosatellite project (HOOPOE 3). The engineering design process combines inter-disciplinary science concepts, with design elements such as workshops, scientific methods, computer simulations and mentoring. Preliminary results show that such a project can facilitate the development of skills such as engineering habits of mind. Students exhibited habits such as collaboration, systems thinking, problem finding, problem solving etc`, while taking part in group tasks. This study highlights the contribution of this ground-breaking learning environment to the development of students` understanding and engineering practices.