A wrinkle on distance learning: Students build spacecraft from home Stanford is shipping free satellite kits to some 30 students of astronautical engineering. Their assignment: Build, program and test their own CubeSats. A wrinkle on distance learning: Students build spacecraft from home January 4, 2021 By Edmund L. Andrews The kits come with programmable chips, plus a ground station that serves as mission control. | Courtesy Students at Stanford Engineering are about to start building and testing miniature satellites without leaving their homes. Because COVID-19 continues to keep most students off campus, Stanford is shipping free satellite kits to some 30 students of astronautical engineering. Their assignment: Build, program and test their own CubeSats, spacecraft that are about the size of a Rubik’s Cube (10 x 10 x 10cm).