This is an electronic version of a conference paper presented at the AIAA Space Programs and Technologies Conference (paper no. AIAA 90-3841), September 25-28, 1990. Converted to HTML March 6, 1995, and made available on this information server for Government purposes.
Gordon I. Johnston
Program Manager, Space Technology University Programs,
Member AIAA
NASA Office of Aeronautics, Exploration and Technology
Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Copyright © 1990 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. No copyright is asserted in the United States under Title 17, U.S. Code. The U.S.Government has a royalty-free license to exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for Government purposes. All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner.
Unless civilization as a whole slips into a new dark age, space will play a key role in the next century: in observing, understanding, preserving, and utilizing the earth; in probing the fundamental questions concerning our origins and the origins of the universe; and in carrying out the President's call for space exploration and an expanded human presence in space. Our Nation will need scientific and engineering experts, but will also need a technically and scientifically competent and excited public, in order to sustain a continued presence in space. Education will be the foundation of our success or failure in the coming " space century." NASA has recognized the need for an interaction with the university community that is of a different flavor, one that emphasizes both research and education; provides long term, stable funding; supports cross-discipline and multi-discipline research; and gives the university the freedom to be creative and innovative. In April 1988, NASA announced the competitive selection of nine University Space Engineering Research Centers. These centers support NASA's goal to broaden the nation's engineering capability to meet the critical needs of the civilian space program.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Office of Aeronautics, Exploration and Technology (OAET) is the advanced technology arm of the Agency. The mission of OAET is to provide technology for both on-going and future civil space missions, and provide a base of research and technology capabilities to serve all of the national space sectors. The Space Research and Technology (R& T) Program is divided into five thrusts areas, reflecting the mission application and user need. These thrusts are Transportation, Space Science, Space Station, Exploration, and Breakthrough. Technical management of the Space R& T Program is by technical discipline. The five technical disciplines, corresponding to the technical divisions in OAET, are Aerodynamics; Information Sciences and Human Factors; Materials and Structures; Propulsion, Power and Energy; and Flight Projects.
NASA OAET conducts about ten percent of its total Research and Development program at U.S. Universities. Most of this funding is focused principally on research rather than education. In addition to Basic Research Grants (which provide the majority of university funding), OAET conducts the University Space Research program, which includes the University Space Engineering Research Centers program (the subject of this paper), the University Investigator Research program, and the University Advanced Design program; the In-Space Technology Experiments program (In-STEP), which provides opportunities to industry and universities to conduct engineering research experiments in the space environment; and a number of discipline related programs including the Hypersonic Training and Research program and the Graduate Program in Aeronautics.
Other NASA university-based center programs include the Office of Commercial Programs Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS), the National Space Grant program, the Office of Space Science and Applications JOVE initiative (the NASA/University Joint Venture in Space Science Research), and the Life Sciences Division NASA Specialized Centers in Research and Training (NSCORT) program. Programs that focus more on individual support include the NASA/American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship program, the National Research Council Resident Research Associates program, and the Graduate Student Researchers program. NASA also participates in Federal programs such as the Summer Employment program, the Historically Black College and University program, the Baccalaureate Degree Co-op program, and the Employee Graduate Study program.
In addition to the NASA, many branches of the United States Government conduct research through universities, and have created university-based science, technology, or engineering centers. These include the Department of Commerce (which encompasses the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology), the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior (which encompasses the Bureau of Mines, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey), the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Science Foundation.[1]
Unless civilization as a whole slips into a new dark age, space will play a key role in the next century: in observing, understanding, preserving, and utilizing the earth; in probing the fundamental questions concerning our origins and the origins of the universe; and in carrying out the President's call for space exploration and an expanded human presence in space. Our Nation will need scientific and engineering experts, but will also need a technically and scientifically competent and excited public, in order to sustain a continued presence in space. Education will be the foundation of our success or failure in the coming " space century."
For this reason, it is essential that our education efforts reach out to all of our citizens, and that every effort be made to reach the under-privileged, the under-represented minorities, and those who might not at first consider pursuing a degree and career in space science or engineering. Opportunities must be available at small, regional colleges, as many students select a college near home, especially if they are unsure of their career goals. Programs like the JOVE Initiative, the Advanced Design program, and the Space Grant program support this need. As students focus their interests and career goals, there must be opportunities to continue their studies at more focused centers, such as the University Space Engineering Research Centers and the NASA Specialized Centers in Research and Training. If a student knows that a NASA/university center exists in an area of interest, he or she will be much more likely to seek it out and purse that career. The range of foci of these centers must be diverse, appealing to a broad range of student interest and concern from Earth observations to Mars missions.
The majority of the OAET funded university research is in the form of basic research grants, which represent about $80M (this includes both aeronautics and space technology funding), or about 80% of the funding OAET provides to about 180 universities. In these cases, the emphasis is usually on research rather than education, the funding is through a NASA field center (such as the Langley Research Center or the Marshall Space Flight Center), and the work is aligned with the NASA technical discipline program.
NASA has recognized the need for an interaction with the university community that is of a different flavor, one that:
The emphasis on education is crucial because of the expected continued growth in the demand for scientists and engineers (which has continued at a rate of about 4.8% per year for the last nine decades, see figure 1), at the same time that the college age population will be decreasing (figure 2).[2],[3]
The academic community must be an integral part of the any effort to rebuild the National space technology base. A new process is needed for carrying out engineering research and education in a more effective manner. Universities need a long-term commitment from NASA to broaden their involvement in space engineering and to stimulate innovation in technology. NASA should encourage universities to conduct long-term research in multi-disciplinary areas of high potential benefit that can evolve into collaborative activities with NASA. Partnerships between NASA, industry, and universities are needed for developing new concepts and ideas that might alter the Agency's own vision of the civil space program. American leadership in space requires incentives to increase U.S. participation in space engineering
Universities are ideally suited to conduct cross-discipline, multi-discipline, and creative research. Stable funding is essential to fostering this kind of research, allowing new ideas to surface and develop. Stable funding is also crucial to supporting a graduate student through the entire cycle of thesis work. The challenges of the next century demand innovative and creative solutions to space science and engineering problems, and we need to train the next generation of researchers to transcend the traditional discipline boundaries.
The goal of the University Space Engineering Research Center program is to enhance and broaden the capabilities of the Nation's engineering community to meet the needs of an expanding space program. The program supports interdisciplinary research centers designed to advance the traditional engineering disciplines applicable to space and bring together the knowledge, methodologies, and engineering tools needed to advance future space systems. These university-based centers are intended to foster creative and innovative concepts for future space systems as well as to expand the nation's engineering talent base for research and development. The centers conduct focused research in one or more of the traditional space engineering disciplines and in cross-discipline combinations, as well as enhance engineering education. The centers promote the teamwork that technological systems problems demand and bring individuals from a wide range of engineering and scientific fields into a single research structure. Universities are provided with a broader charter for independent research and unique opportunities to develop new mission concepts and ideas. Interactions of mutual benefit between these university-based centers, other universities, industrial organizations, and NASA centers are encouraged. The program is designed to be flexible to allow the universities the freedom to be innovative.
In April 1988, NASA's then Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology announced the competitive selection of nine university-based Space Engineering Research Centers. These University centers support NASA's goal to broaden the nation's engineering capability to meet the critical needs of the civilian space program.
As stated in the August 1987 Program Notice, " these Centers are expected to perform research and to develop technologies relevant to operational bases on the moon, to manned and unmanned operations to Mars, to space flight missions to other parts of the solar system, and to space flight operations in the future, such as envisioned by the National Commission on Space."
Approximately 2,200 copies of the preliminary announcement were distributed in June 1987 to a University distribution list supplied by the NASA Educational Affairs Division. The final announcement, Program Notice, and announcement of the preproposal video-conference were distributed in August 1987. The preproposal video-conference was held in September 1987.
The criteria for evaluation and selection of the proposals included: 1) the strength and quality of existing undergraduate and graduate engineering research and training programs; 2) the quality of the proposed engineering research--the innovative and fundamental nature of the research activities and the manner in which the cross- disciplinary activity among engineering and science contributed to the advancement of space engineering and to the nation's pool of engineering talent; 3) the potential impact of the proposed focused research area and academic training on future space missions, 4) the technical competence, leadership, and organizational strengths of the team to broaden the nation's capabilities in space engineering; and 5) the potential for the proposed program to attract additional support and in the long term to become an effective self-sustaining space engineering center. The five criteria were given approximately equal weight.
The University Space Engineering Research Program Steering Committee included a representative from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Science Foundation, and the the American Society for Engineering Education. The Steering Committee established a standardized review process for all proposals.
To select the nine centers, NASA evaluated 115 proposals, nearly all of which were of high or acceptable quality. The proposals underwent a rigorous and extensive peer review involving top researchers from NASA, other government agencies, industry, and universities, with each proposal being assigned to five reviewers. Based upon these reviews, a NASA working group and the USERC Program Steering Committee selected the most outstanding proposals for further review and on-site evaluation. NASA review teams conducted site visits to 25 universities, from which the final nine were selected.
These university-based centers each received a grant of about $1/2 million in the first year, with the amount increasing to between $1 to $2 million a year. Because of the size and importance of the awards, and the high level of interest expressed in the program by both the universities and the Congress, extreme care was taken to ensure that the selection process was fair and competitive.
Universities not selected were provided a summary of the evaluation comments, and offered the opportunity for post selection debriefings upon request. These provided specific information on how to improve their standing in future competitions.
Current University Space Engineering Research Centers: The current nine NASA OAET University Space Engineering Research Centers are:
For a typical University Space Engineering Research Center, research is generally divided into 12 projects. The Centers usually involve about 16 professors, many are on several projects, as well as about 35 students, 1/3 of whom are undergraduates. All of the centers report increased interaction with other departments and colleges within the university, as well as with one or more other universities, two or more NASA field centers, and several industrial organizations. Each center has started two or more new courses, generally at the graduate level, and added considerable new material to undergraduate courses. The centers report that the NASA mission focus of centers attract large numbers of students, that there is a new excitement among students in being involved in a national program, and that undergraduates are cognizant of and considering careers in aerospace.[4]
The Center for the Utilization of Local Planetary Resources (SERC/CULPR) at the University of Arizona is directed by Dr. Terry Triffet. The objective of the center is to develop scientifically- sound engineering processes and facility specifications for producing propellants and fuels, construction and shielding materials, and life support substances from the lithospheres and atmospheres of planetary and asteroidal bodies, stressing total utilization and mission optimization. Research areas include propellant processing, materials properties, system optimization, and data base development. The general approach is to optimize the overall mission through full use of resources, evolve the best combinations of components rather than the best components, and develop a quantitative " figure-of-merit" methodology to evaluate the total system.
The current emphasis is on the production of oxygen and related byproducts from lunar regolith and carbonaceous chondritic asteroids. The approach will be to evolve optimized engineering designs for the manufacture of (1) propellants and (2) structural/shield materials. Two candidates will be manufactured in each category, giving NASA the choice of selecting one or both. These will be taken through the steps of idea generation, laboratory design implementation, breadboard evolution, and flight-qualified hardware. Emphasis will be placed on production of engineering specifications from which the working hardware may be designed and developed.
The Center for Space Construction at the University of Colorado at Boulder is directed by Dr. Donald P. Hearth. The objective of the center is to enhance interdisciplinary and system engineering within the University of Colorado's space engineering programs by (1) conducting research tasks associated with in-space construction and the influence of space on system design and operations, and (2) by offering new and modified inter-disciplinary/system courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The center will concentrate on tasks associated with in- space construction itself, and on the influence of construction process on system design and operation. The presence of the center will allow the university to establish, expand, and modernize space engineering educational programs using the strong foundation provided by the Aerospace Engineering departments. The approach is to conduct space engineering research and education programs by " clusters" of faculty and students from several departments. The research focus areas (clusters) are: (1) Operations, developing the technology needed for construction operations including human- machine operations, automation and robotics, and human interfaces and work environment; (2) Structures, developing the technology needed for structural evaluation of alternative space construction concepts; (3) Extraterrestrial, developing the technology needed for constructing and maintaining the outposts and bases on the Moon and Mars; and (4) Systems, developing the concepts, insights and models for space construction. The program is interdisciplinary, with faculty and students from seven departments. It includes a major emphasis on education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The program involves center associates from industry, government laboratories, and other universities.
The Controlled Structures Technology Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is directed by Dr. Edward F. Crawley. The objective of the center is to develop and demonstrate a unified technology of controlled structures, codify and disseminate this technology, and train a generation of skilled engineers. This will be accomplished by developing hardware test beds which mimic the requirements of relevant NASA missions, and enabling technical transfer by actively involving industrial participants. The approach is to form a cohesive, focussed interdepartmental faculty and student group, identify goals by examining shortcomings of current technology and requirements of future scientific and exploration missions, and develop a technology base research program to advance toward these goals. The development of hardware test beds which mimic the requirements of relevant NASA missions will be used to promote reality by requiring students to demonstrate concepts on these test beds. Actively involving industrial participants will enable technology transfer for application by industry.
The Mars Mission Research Center at the North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is directed by Dr. Fred R. DeJarnette. The objective of the center is to develop educational and research programs that focus on the technologies for space exploration with particular emphasis on Mars, which is the next great national challenge to the U.S. space program. The center will conduct research in the areas of hypersonic aerodynamics and propulsion, composite materials and fabrication, light-weight structures, controls, and Mars mission analysis and design, directed towards the development of space transportation systems. Two major projects that the center completed in the last year are the construction of a mock-up of a Personnel Launch System, and construction and test of a mock- up of a Mars aerobrake for in-space assembly.
A full-scale research model of the HL-20 Personnel Launch System, 29.5 feet long with a 23.5 foot wingspan, was built this last summer by 55 students with assistance from 6 faculty members, and is on display at this conference. The model was designed during an engineering design class in the spring of 1990, and the fiberglass mock-up was built by students over summer. The effort included the design and construction of a steel truss cradle for handling and transport. The model will be used at LaRC and JSC to study crew seating arrangements, habitability, equipment layout, crew entry and exit, and maintenance/handing operations.
The students at the center also designed and analyzed an aerobrake mock-up for a Mars mission, with cost estimates and system specification. The aerobrake mock-up components were fabricated at the North Carolina State University, and then packaged and shipped to the McDonnell Douglas Underwater Test Facility where students assisted in neutral buoyancy assembly tests and demonstrations. Further tests are planned for October.
The Center for Intelligent Robotic Systems for Space Exploration (CIRSSE) at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is directed by Dr. George N. Saridis. The objectives of the center are to develop and advance mathematical theories of Intelligent Control Systems leading to principles of machine intelligence and control algorithms for autonomous systems, and to develop laboratory demonstrations of intelligent robot systems emphasizing: (1) concepts and theory essential to the development of autonomous systems for assembly, disassembly and repair in space and planetary exploration; and (2) reconfigurable manipulators with redundant degrees of freedom. The research areas include the mathematical theory of intelligent control, task planning and integration, adaptive learning and control, parallel computation and information management, multi-sensor fusion, multi-arm manipulation, system reliability and safety, and an experimental facility to enable the demonstration of intelligent robotic systems.
The Space Engineering Research Center for Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) System Design at the University of Idaho is directed by Dr. Gary K. Maki. The objectives of the center are to develop science and technology for very large scale integrated (VLSI) systems and to create high performance computer chip technology and expertise for space applications. The research is directed at space applications involving data communication and compression, navigation, control robotics, image processing, pattern recognition, real time information processing, and computer vision. The research areas include VLSI sequential circuits, high performance computer architectures, computer aided design (CAD) tools, digital signal processing, coding theory, and circuits. Two major projects were competed this year, designed to commercial standards. These were a VLSI chip ECC (error correcting chip) processor for the ground station for Hubble Space Telescope and the CCSDS ECC processor chip set. In addition, a VLSI processor designed in 1988 has been incorporated in new Hewlett Packard disc drives that went into production in the summer of 1989, and another is scheduled to implemented in a new product in the fall of 1990. The Space Telescope and CCSDS chip sets are commercially available from Advanced Hardware Architecture.
The Center for Space Terahertz Technology at the University of Michigan is directed by Dr. Fawwaz T. Ulaby. The first objective of the center is to establish a research program (and a premier center for research) in terahertz technology for space remote sensing applications. This includes developing terahertz devices (local oscillators, mixers, detectors), circuits, antennas and receiver modules that operate in the 100-1000 gigahertz frequency range; developing integrated (imaging and non-imaging) sensors; and applying this new technology in support of the U.S. space program, radio astronomy and industry applications. The second objective is to expand the nation's talent pool in space science and technology. The research areas include terahertz devices; terahertz receivers and measurements, and terahertz remote sensing applications. The approach is to concentrate on coherent detection with solid state devices, but also explore ways to approach the 100-1000 gigahertz region from the infrared side; to concentrate on passive receivers in phase I (years 1 to 4) before extending the technology to radar sensors; to focus on NASA applications, but not to the exclusion of radio astronomical and industrial applications; and to emphasize the importance of understanding the physics and methodology of the fabrication process. The Center for Space Terahertz Technology draws its technical support from three research facilities. The first is the Radiation Laboratory, which has two anechoic chambers and an antenna test range. The second is the Center for High-frequency Microelectronics (CHFM), which has 15,000 ft2 of Lab space, 6,000 ft2 of clean-room space (class 10 to 1000). And the third is the Space Physics Research Laboratory, which is designing and will operate one of the science instrument on the NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) and has space qualification facilities.
The Health Monitoring Technology Center for Space Propulsion Systems at the University of Cincinnati is directed by Dr. Stanley G. Rubin. The primary goal of the center is the development of a national resource for research and educational programs, and for information collection and dissemination, that focus on health monitoring technologies in general, and space propulsion systems in particular. To achieve this goal, the center is pursing the following objectives: (1) to conduct basic analytical and experimental research in modeling, monitoring, diagnosing (on-line and between firings) and predicting (real time) the operating condition of space propulsion systems and their components; and (2) to develop an integrated educational program in space-related technology with emphasis on health monitoring and space propulsion. The major research and curriculum areas include: (1) development, characterization and testing of state-of-the-art sensors applicable to health monitoring diagnosis; (2) integration of signal processing for diagnosis with sensor signal and algorithm implementation; (3) development, digital implementation and simplified characterization of integrated transient models of flow, thermodynamic, structural and material life behavior for nominal and degraded conditions; and (4) formulation and evaluation of model, rule and data-based algorithms for diagnosis, prognosis and control.
The Center for Space Propulsion Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University is directed by Dr. Charles L. Merkle. The objective of the center is to provide a focused research effort in propulsion which will lead to improved technologies in the space program. Specific areas of research include chemical and electrical propulsion; diagnostics; materials; plus advanced concepts. Technical categories include energetics materials compatibility, and turbo-machinery with supporting diagnostics. The near-term focus of the center is on chemical propulsion and materials compatibility. The major research areas include: combustion (both droplet/spray combustion and combustor/nozzle flow- field research); turbo-machinery; materials compatibility; the cryogenic combustion laboratory; and advanced concepts. A unique, major facility at the center is the Cryogenic Combustion Laboratory, with a planned capability for liquid oxygen/gaseous hydrogen, and liquid oxygen/liquid hydrocarbons at thrust levels to 500 pounds. Currently the lab is running with gaseous oxygen and gaseous hydrogen, and the initial run with liquid oxygen and gaseous hydrogen is scheduled for December of 1990.
The current nine University Space Engineering Research Centers have undertaken a number of approaches to reach out and attract new students to the space engineering disciplines. These fall into three basic approaches: high school outreach programs, links to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the expansion of on-going outreach programs already established by the university.
The Space Engineering Research Center for Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) System Design at the University of Idaho sponsored a workshop for high school physics teachers in July of 1990. The twenty participants were exposed to fundamental issues of electronics, digital circuit design, and computer aided design tools. The goal was to expose the teachers to challenging technology which they can take back to their classrooms. Hopefully, this exposure will motivate high school students to elect science and engineering as professions. The response from the teachers involved was very positive. Many of these teachers work with under- represented minority students (principally Native Americans in the Idaho area)
The center also participates in the Idaho Science Camp, organized in the college of engineering to attract minorities into science and engineering professions. The Science Camp consists of mostly junior high school Native Americans who come to campus during the summer for a one week program. In addition, the center conducts a direct mailing to most of the high schools in the Northwest.
The Center for Space Terahertz Technology at the University of Michigan is in the process of finalizing plans with a high school in Ypsilanti, Michigan, whose student population is primarily black. The center will " adopt" the high school by having faculty and graduate students serve as tutors in science and math, working to encourage students to pursue college degrees related to space science.
The Center for Space Propulsion Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University has established close links with Lincoln University (a Historically Black College/University) as part of its outreach and recruitment program. In the first year, three students were involved, one of whom transferred to Penn State to continue his research. This last summer (the second year), five students from Lincoln University participated in the center's research. In addition, Faculty from Lincoln University brought six high school students from a special Lincoln summer program to observe the symposium held at the end of the summer program.
The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, one of the two universities in the consortium that runs the Mars Mission Research Center, is a Historically Black College/University, and over one-third of the center participants are minority students.
The Health Monitoring Technology Center for Space Propulsion Systems at the University of Cincinnati is initiating a program of visits and contacts with regional, predominately minority colleges such as the Central State University.
Three Massachusetts Institute of Technology programs help increase minority involvement in their center. Through the MIT UROP program, the center is aggressively working to involve minority undergraduates. The MIT Space Grant College program is focused on recruiting under-represented minorities to become involved in space activities and to attend undergraduate and graduate school at MIT. The center also participates in the MITES program, an MIT prefreshman summer program for under- represented minorities.
The Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Colorado has an NSF-funded fellowship program with a strong minority agenda, Century XXI, which funds a number of center students.
The Health Monitoring Technology Center for Space Propulsion Systems at the University of Cincinnati is expanding an on-going Minority Research Apprenticeship program to bring competitively selected high school juniors and seniors into the center as summer interns.
The Center for Space Propulsion Engineering participates in Penn State's Women and Minorities in Engineering Program, and the president of the Black Engineering Students Society, a woman, worked as a programmer on a center project during 1989-90.
The approach of creating university-based engineering research centers reflects and reinforces the dual mission of universities: to conduct both research and education. We have already seen that the educational program is greatly enhanced by the many interactions, and that this research benefits both the university and NASA. The program's focus on space applications and exploration appeals to both graduate and undergraduate students. Student's are attracted by the opportunity to participate in what promises to be the golden age of space exploration in the next century. The current University Space Engineering Research Centers report that more minorities have been attracted than by other programs. This is a new approach to education.
The next century will offer historic opportunities, but also tremendous obstacles, to those nations that are willing and ready to step up to the challenge of space exploration. We have a responsibility to our children to ensure that they are ready, that they are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and capabilities to accept these challenges.
Not available electronically.
This is an electronic version of a conference paper presented at the AIAA Space Programs and Technologies Conference (paper no. AIAA 90-3841), September 25-28, 1990. Converted to HTML March 6, 1995, and made available on this information server for Government purposes.