If all goes as planned, Julie Brisset’s NASA-funded project will send an experiment into space. Brisset, interim director of the Florida Space Institute, has a passion for advancing space exploration, which the project aims to do.

The technology to be tested is a Dust In-situ Manipulation System (DIMS) — a payload designed to create and control dust clouds in low-gravity environments, specifically for simulating how dust behaves in undisturbed environments, for example interstellar dust clouds or pollution aerosols in our atmosphere.

It’s designed for use in microgravity conditions, such as those found in space, to study dust particle behavior, including their levitation, size sorting, interaction with light and its implications for understanding planetary environments.

“Once you start research in this field, it is surprising to see how important dust is in many applications,” Brisset says. “From the confines of our universe to the lunar surface and our own atmosphere, dust particles play a key role in many physical processes.”

By studying dust clouds in a controlled setting, DIMS can provide insights into protoplanetary disks and other celestial bodies.

Using a combination of low gas pressure and thermal piezoelectric elements, it allows for the creation of a cloud of dust grains and its motion across the volume of the experiment at various speeds. Piezoelectric elements convert mechanical energy, such as pressure or vibration, into electrical energy, and vice versa.

DIMS will create a 3D image of a dust cloud using high-speed cameras from two different angles. It is designed to overcome current limitations related to the levitation of dust clouds in microgravity including size sorting, preferential particle orientation, hardware constraints and residual accelerations.

This technology was developed to offer a general platform supporting experiments over a range of applications, including astrophysics (spectroscopy of interstellar dust), planetary sciences (interplanetary dust, planetary rings, early stages of planet formation) and atmospheric sciences (aerosols).

“The ultimate goal is an orbital platform that can be useful for a range of scientific activities,” Brisset says.

In addition, as it allows for the motion of dust at various speeds, the DIMS technology will demonstrate a possible dust transport mechanism in future ISRU applications, such as asteroid mining or Lunar water extraction from regolith. The DIMS project was supported by the NASA Flight Opportunities Program and allowed for the training of many students and early career scientists over the years.

“Such programs are a great intersection between science, technology development, and education,” Brisset says.

This experiment is funded by NASA and conducted in collaboration with Technischen Universität Braunschweig.

Founded in 1963 with the mission to provide talent for Central Florida and the growing U.S. space program, the university’s extensive involvement in space research and education not only drives innovations in space technology but also prepares the next generation of leaders in the field.

With more than 40 active NASA projects totaling more than $67 million in funding, �鶹ӳ����ý continues to push the frontiers of space research, and its contributions promise to help shape the future of humanity’s presence in the cosmos.

�����’s cutting-edge areas of space expertise include:

Space Medicine

�����’s College of Medicine is pioneering new frontiers in aerospace medicine, positioning itself as a leader in space health research and education. Spearheaded by initiatives to create an interdisciplinary curriculum, �鶹ӳ����ý is integrating expertise from engineering, medicine and nursing to address the unique health challenges of space exploration.

The college is building on existing research in space health, including innovative studies on the effects of microgravity on bone health, which could lead to improved protection for astronauts. Collaborations across disciplines, such as testing therapeutics for radiation protection and developing antimicrobial solutions for space station environments, highlight �����’s commitment to advancing astronaut health and shaping the future of space medicine.

Space Propulsion and Power

�鶹ӳ����ý is advancing space propulsion with groundbreaking research that could make space travel more efficient and viable for future missions. Researchers are developing innovative hypersonic propulsion systems, such as rotating detonation rocket engines, which harness high-speed detonations to increase propulsion efficiency and reduce fuel consumption — an advancement that could significantly lower costs and emissions associated with space travel, creating new commercial opportunities in the industry. �鶹ӳ����ý is taking its hypersonics research even further with its recently launched Center of Excellence in Hypersonic and Space Propulsion — the HyperSpace Center.

Additionally, �鶹ӳ����ý teams are exploring novel power systems for spacecraft venturing far from the sun, where solar energy becomes impractical. With funding from NASA, researchers are creating storable chemical heat sources capable of providing essential heat and power in extreme environments, from the icy surfaces of distant moons to the intense heat of Venus.

Space Technology and Engineering

�鶹ӳ����ý is forging the future of space technology with innovations that push the boundaries of lunar and deep space exploration. Through advancements in lunar resource utilization, �鶹ӳ����ý has developed methods to efficiently extract ice from lunar soil so that it can be transformed into vital resources like water and rocket fuel, while new techniques for processing lunar soil drastically reduce construction costs for infrastructure such as landing pads.

�鶹ӳ����ý researchers are also pioneering 3D-printed bricks made from lunar regolith that withstand extreme space conditions, setting the foundation for resilient off-world habitats. Lunar regolith is the loose dust, rocks and materials that cover the moon’s surface.

�����’s Exolith Lab, part of the , continues to lead in space hardware testing, advancing resource extraction and lunar construction technologies. Meanwhile, FSI’s CubeSat program is opening new doors in space exploration with compact, affordable satellites that give students and researchers access to microgravity and beyond.

Space Commercialization

�鶹ӳ����ý’s new space commercialization program — led by , College of Business professor of practice and associate provost for space commercialization and strategy — positions the university as a leader in space-related business education.

Autry will guide the college’s efforts to deliver Executive and MBA programs in space commercialization, driving curriculum development and establishing space-focused programs that equip students to lead in the growing commercial space industry.

In addition to the space commercialization program, Autry will be working with external stakeholders, including NASA, the U.S. Space Force and commercial firms like Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, to develop opportunities to advance mutual interests in space.

This includes working with Kennedy Space Center to lead a State University System partnership with the state of Florida to develop the necessary talent to maintain and expand Florida’s leadership in space exploration and commercialization.

Autry will also be leading �����’s effort to develop and execute a roadmap for the university’s SpaceU brand through targeted investments in talent and facilities.

Space Domain Awareness

�鶹ӳ����ý is advancing space domain awareness research to protect critical assets in orbit by developing sophisticated algorithms for tracking and predicting the movement of objects such as satellites and asteroids, so they don’t collide with spacecraft. Under the guidance of aerospace engineering expert Tarek Elgohary, �鶹ӳ����ý researchers are creating a computational framework to rapidly and accurately track space objects in real time. This initiative is backed by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Dynamic Data and Information Process Program.

�鶹ӳ����ý is also addressing the growing issue of orbital debris through a NASA-funded study that includes researchers from �����’s FSI and . This project seeks to increase public awareness and support for managing space debris, a hazard to satellites and potential space tourism ventures.

Workforce Development

�鶹ӳ����ý is propelling students toward dynamic careers in the space industry with hands-on programs and sought-after internship opportunities. Through the new engineering graduate certificate in electronic parts engineering, developed in collaboration with NASA, students are gaining essential skills in testing and evaluating space-ready electronic components — a key advantage for aspiring space professionals.

Additionally, �鶹ӳ����ý students can benefit from hands-on internships at Kennedy Space Center, where they gain real-world experience in various fields, from engineering to project management.

At the , students gain direct experience in microgravity research and robotics. The center embodies �����’s commitment to democratizing space access, offering pathways for students from all backgrounds to participate in and contribute to the growing space industry.

FSI’s CubeSat program further immerses students in satellite design and operation, offering direct involvement in active space missions.

Planetary Science

�鶹ӳ����ý’s planetary science program is driving breakthroughs in space exploration with projects spanning the moon, Mars and beyond. The NASA-funded Lunar-VISE mission, led by �鶹ӳ����ý, will explore the Gruithuisen domes on the far side of the moon to understand their volcanic origins, potentially unlocking insights crucial for future space exploration.

Complementing this, �鶹ӳ����ý researchers are contributing to NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission, which will map water ice deposits on the moon — an essential resource for sustained stays in space. On another front, �鶹ӳ����ý scientists are studying dust behavior in microgravity through experiments that flew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, potentially leading to strategies for mitigating lunar dust, a challenge for electronics and equipment on future missions.

Expanding its reach beyond the moon, �����’s planetary science research involves asteroid studies, including the high-profile OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu and examining seismic wave propagation in simulated asteroid materials to understand asteroid evolution and early planetary formation. �鶹ӳ����ý is also home to the , a node of NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, which facilitates NASA’s exploration of deep space by focusing its goals at the intersection of surface science and surface exploration of rocky, atmosphereless bodies.

Additionally, �鶹ӳ����ý researchers are studying trans-Neptunian objects and using the James Webb Space Telescope to explore the solar system’s outer reaches, analyzing ancient ices to uncover clues about the solar system’s history, while also investigating exoplanets to advance our understanding of other planets and to search for life beyond Earth.

In parallel, �鶹ӳ����ý researchers are also advancing bold ideas for terraforming Mars through nanoparticle dispersion to create warming effect, making the Red Planet potentially more habitable.

�鶹ӳ����ý researchers have also contributed their expertise to multiple high-profile NASA missions, including Cassini, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Curiosity, and New Horizons.

Advancing Astrophotonics, History and Policy

�����’s space research spans pioneering astrophotonics technology, studies in space history and critical analyses in space policy, each offering unique insights into the universe. The within CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics, is pushing the boundaries of photonics and astronomy, using tools like photonic lanterns, fiber optics, and hyperspectral imaging to detect cosmic phenomena and address profound questions about dark energy.

Meanwhile, delves into space history, exploring the cultural and scientific impacts of milestones like the Apollo missions and the Space Shuttle program, helping illuminate humanity’s journey into space.

The contributes to this comprehensive approach with its broad studies of space policy, both domestically and internationally, including examining military space policy and rising space powers. The work involves studying space law, international agreements, and policy frameworks that guide space activities, which is essential for addressing the governance and strategic planning needed for space exploration and utilization.

Pioneering Tomorrow’s Space Exploration

�鶹ӳ����ý is pushing the frontiers of space research and education, tackling today’s challenges while preparing for the demands of future space missions. As the new space race continues, �����’s forward-thinking approach will continue to drive progress, inspire new possibilities and expand humanity’s reach into the universe.

The robot rovers won’t be going into space — but they will face the next best challenge: to build a berm structure which would be useful to NASA’s Artemis program for navigating during lunar landings and launches, shading cryogenic propellant tank farms, providing radiation protection around a nuclear power plant and other mission-critical uses.

NASA created the Lunabotics Challenge in support of the Artemis program. �����’s Florida Space Institute and its Exolith Lab will host the first round, sponsored by Caterpillar Inc., on May 11-14. The top 10 teams will advance to the demonstrations phase of the competition at the Kennedy Space Center May 15-17.

At �鶹ӳ����ý, students will be testing and showcasing their rovers in the same regolith bin that NASA, the European Space Agency and many companies use to evaluate and improve new equipment and technologies before launching them into space. Leaders in key industries that are important to Florida’s and the region’s workforce will serve as judges.

“Lunabotics gives students from throughout the United States an unrivaled opportunity to apply their knowledge of robotics and space to NASA’s design and construction processes,” says Winston Schoenfeld, �鶹ӳ����ý interim vice president for research. “The future of our space and many other high-tech industries depends on preparing a talented workforce that can innovate and work in highly collaborative team environments.”

Each team of college students has spent months designing and building a robot rover to NASA specifications that, during this challenge, will autonomously navigate a lunar-simulated arena and excavate regolith. They will compete two teams at a time per round, being given a set amount of time to collect regolith from the construction zone and dump it into a berm zone. Teams will be judged on a variety of factors, chiefly, the size of the berm they are able to build up in the regolith material with the rover.

The top 10 teams then travel to Kennedy Space Center for the culminating event, to demonstrate the operation of their functional tele-operated or autonomous robot to complete the lunar construction tasks. Students benefit from participating and having their work evaluated by NASA and private sector engineers, technicians and educators. NASA benefits by assessing student designs and data the same way it does for its own designs, encouraging innovation in student designs and identifying clever solutions to the many challenges inherent in future Artemis missions.

“NASA’s Artemis program is our plan to return humanity to the surface of the moon in a way that is sustainable over the long term.  And the task of robotically building berm structures will be important for preparation and support of crewed lunar missions.  These competing teams are not only building critical engineering skills that will assist their future careers, but they are literally helping NASA prepare for our future Artemis missions,” says NASA Software Developer & In-Situ Resource Specialization (ISRU) Researcher Kurt Leucht.

Founded to help fuel talent for the nearby space industry, �鶹ӳ����ý continues to build its reputation as SpaceU. NASA, with more than 50 years of research support from �鶹ӳ����ý, has advanced its Artemis program with the goal of establishing a sustainable human presence on the moon and preparing for missions to Mars. Prominent �鶹ӳ����ý space researchers are actively engaged in multiple collaborations with NASA — particularly within the Artemis program — and 29% of Kennedy Space Center employees are �鶹ӳ����ý alums.

“Students are taking on a challenge that also faces all of our top space agencies and companies — how can we design and build an autonomous vehicle that can reliably perform tasks on the surface of the moon?” says Julie Brisset, interim director of �����’s Florida Space Institute. “The hands-on experience is invaluable for students and will help set them up for success on their campuses and in their future careers.”

Soil simulants used in the Lunabotics Challenge at �鶹ӳ����ý are created from crushed minerals. Once produced by �����’s Exolith Lab, this regolith is now manufactured by a successful spinoff company, Space Resource Technologies. Other sponsors include Allen & Company, Lunar Outpost, Riegl USA and Venturi Astrolab.

As for the �鶹ӳ����ý Team, comprised of nine mechanical engineering and computer science students, learning how to work together as a team was as worthwhile an output as the lunar robot itself.

“Our ‘move fast and break things’ mindset has led to lots of creativity flowing to solve problems that came up with the design,” says Lee Marshall, who serves as team lead for �鶹ӳ����ý.

Their biggest challenge was creating a custom mechanical solution from scratch for the controls, according to Marshall. For the robot rover, materials came from 3D printers, an Xbox Connect being used as a camera and depth sensor, and other materials found in the Robotics Club lab.

“From observing the team, you can see their dedication, innate drive and determination to make it through the qualifying event,” says Crystal Maraj, faculty advisor for the �鶹ӳ����ý Robotics Club and an assistant professor with the Institute for Simulation and Training. “It takes a lot of time and effort, and I applaud these students for their success to iterate the design and utility of the robot for competition.”

Members of the public will be able to watch the competition rounds of the Lunabotics Challenge on the Florida Space Institute’s YouTube Channel. The Lunabotics .

This is the sixth time �鶹ӳ����ý has had experiments fly aboard New Shepard, with previous flights in August 2021, January, May and December of 2019 and April 2016. The studies are among several dozen research payloads on NS-24, New Shepard’s 24^th mission.

Bone Loss in Space

�鶹ӳ����ý College of Medicine biomedical engineer Melanie Coathup is partnering with Michael Kinzel, an associate professor in �����’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, to understand how the absence of gravity in space impacts the bones of space travelers.

“When you’re in microgravity, there’s a change in characteristics of fluid flow and we’re trying to find out if that includes the fluid flow in our bodies, particularly through our bones,” says Coathup, who heads �����’s Biionix faculty cluster initiative, an interdisciplinary team developing innovative materials, processes, and interfaces to support health and well-being.

Microgravity-induced bone loss is a health risk for space travelers and long-term goals of human space exploration and colonization. NASA research has shown that astronauts who stay in space for extended periods can lose up to 1% to 2% of bone density per month, primarily in weight-bearing bones like the spine, hips and legs. That compares to bone loss of 0.5% to 1% per year in aging men and post-menopausal women on Earth. This significant bone loss can place space travelers at risk for bone fracture and an early-onset spaceflight-induced osteoporosis.

Coathup theorizes that while on Earth, gravity exerts a constant mechanical load to the skeletal system whenever we sit, walk or stand, which causes a tiny amount of fluid to flow in and out of bones.

“On Earth, when we bear weight on our bones, it forces fluid into the tissue and then as we take off the ground, water draws back out. So that applies a mechanical stimulus to our cells that sends nutrients into the bone and then removes waste products as well,” Coathup says.

“We predict that in microgravity, in the absence of weight-bearing, there’s very little fluid movement, which stops or reduces that mechanical stimulus that sends nutrients in and stops waste products from going out and we believe this may contribute to bone damage,” she says.

This New Shepard mission does not have crew, but human subjects are highly complex and difficult to understand. So, the �鶹ӳ����ý researchers are combining medical and mechanical engineering technology to develop novel models that directly focus the study of human bone behavior to fluidic character in microgravity. Coathup is gathering the small-scale porous structure of bones using medical technology (CT Scans). These geometries are being used by Kinzel’s group to create a microfluidic chip to represent this geometry. These microfluidic chips are miniature flow channels that include artificial capillaries using advanced 3D printing technology. Fluid and tiny beads are pumped through the chip to mimic the proteins and solutes in blood. The goal is to develop comparisons of the flow in these bone-like chips in microgravity to the behavior in various orientations in normal gravity on Earth.

“We expect to see that the presence of gravity enhances micro-scale mixing needed to support healthy bones,” Kinzel says.

The experiment is not a perfect representation of a real bone, but rather a simplified model to help researchers understand mechanisms. The size of the beads and capillaries are much larger in the experiment than in people’s bodies.

“To accommodate this, we plan to use high-end computational modeling to scale down the experiment to a real human bone,” Kinzel says.

Kinzel, an expert in computational fluid dynamics, leads the team that is creating the microchip and its platform.

The overall study is led by imec, an international nano- and digital technology research organization. The study is primarily focused on demonstrating imec’s lens-free microscope technology in a space environment. �鶹ӳ����ý and imec collaborated to formulate research questions to demonstrate the added value of these new microscopes, which are both smaller and lighter than conventional ones, for future biological testing on the International Space Station.

Coathup has dedicated much of her research to figuring out how bones are impacted by aging and environmental stressors such as space flight, and is working on developing new technologies and therapies that can protect, repair or rebuild damaged bones.

Her collaboration with Kinzel is one of numerous payloads on this flight funded by NASA primarily through the NASA Flight Opportunities program. These payloads are helping researchers better understand the capabilities of living and working in space.

Dust Behavior in Microgravity

This project — titled Electrostatic Regolith Interaction Experiment (ERIE) — examines charged dust behavior in microgravity and also tests sensors that will characterize the charging behavior of dust in a lunar-like environment.

Key to these experiments is the several minutes of microgravity provided by the Blue Origin flight.

The research is led by Adrienne Dove, an associate professor in �����’s Department of Physics, in collaboration with researchers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The sensors are being developed by collaborators at Kennedy to be used on lunar missions, such as on rover wheels, where they could measure charge on dust grains in natural lunar environments.

The results can inform strategies to keep lunar dust from damaging electronics, solar cells and mechanical equipment, and even human suits and systems during lunar missions.

The research is funded through NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program within its Space Technology Mission Directorate.

Seismic Wave Propagation in Asteroids

This project, titled Microgravity Experiment for the Speed of Sound (MESS), is examining how seismic waves and shaking can modify the surface and interior of an asteroid, and impact-induced seismicity can dictate surface features as well as overall shape and compactness changes within the asteroid.

The research is led by Julie Brisset, a research scientist and interim director of the Florida Space Institute (FSI) at �鶹ӳ����ý. Brisset researches dust behavior under microgravity conditions for the study of planet formation and regolith.

This work is important since the mechanical structure and dynamical behavior of small asteroids can retain clues to the early processes taking place during planet formation times.

In this experiment, simulated asteroid granular material that had been placed into three separate containers has sound waves generated into them, and their speeds are recorded while in the microgravity environment of the New Shepard rocket.

Three types of asteroid material simulant are used in the experiment: fine grains (about 0.1 millimeter), millimeter-, and centimeter-sized grains.

These simulants are routinely prepared at principal investigator Brisset’s lab at �����’s Florida Space Institute.

Undergraduate students assembled the payload, and over the course of its design and implementation, a total of about 10 undergraduate students participated for a project duration of five semesters, with graduating students training new arrivals on the team.

“Students were not only trained in hands-on skills in their respective areas of expertise and integrated teamwork, but also in mentoring and project management as well,” Brisset says. “They learned to handle deadlines and project documentation, and overall, had an exceptional experience preparing them for their post-graduation professional life.”

Researchers’ Backgrounds

Coathup received her doctorate in orthopedic implant fixation from University College London and joined �鶹ӳ����ý in 2017. Before coming to �鶹ӳ����ý, she worked at the University College of London for 17 years. Her work includes the development of a novel synthetic bone substitute material Inductigraft to boost bone repair and regeneration, which is mainly used in spinal fusion surgery and marketed by Baxter Healthcare. Her research excellence has been recognized internationally through her publications and through receiving several prestigious UK, European and international prizes from her peers.

Kinzel received his doctorate in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University and joined �鶹ӳ����ý in 2018. In addition to being a member of �����’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and a part of �����’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, he also works with �����’s Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research.

Dove received her doctorate in astrophysical and planetary sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her bachelor’s degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Missouri. She joined �����’s Department of Physics, part of the College of Sciences, in 2012. In 2017 Dove was awarded the Susan Niebur Early Career Award by the NASA Solar System Exploration Virtual Research Institute (SSERVI) for her contributions to the science and exploration communities. She has also received �����’s Reach for the Stars Award and Luminary Award.

Brisset earned her master’s degrees in aerospace engineering in 2005 from the Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace in Toulouse, France, and the Technical University of Munich. After working for several years as an aerospace engineer on European Space Agency International Space Station payload operations, she started graduate studies in astrophysics at the University of Braunschweig, Germany and received her doctoral degree in 2014.

One special guest flew aboard the flight today – a small plush Citronaut, affectionately referred to as Dave. The Citronaut, which is a blend of an orange and an astronaut, is �����’s retro, unofficial first mascot from when �鶹ӳ����ý was known as Florida Technological University. He’s become a beloved throwback figure among the Knight Nation.

“Dave came out with me last time to see the launch, and everyone loved him so we arranged it so that he could fly in the payload this time,” says Adrienne Dove, an assistant professor in �����’s Department of Physics whose research was aboard the flight. “We strapped him in with a little zip-tie harness, and he should be visible in one of our video cameras, so we’ll get to see how he does in flight.”

The experiment aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle is named Strata-S1 and is designed to analyze planetary surface particle distribution in low gravity.

A similar experiment is slated to fly aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which is scheduled to launch soon from Kennedy Space Center on a commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Whereas Strata-S1 was a one-time experiment performed while the New Shepard rocket was in space, the SpaceX flight will send Dove’s research to the ISS where her experiments will be carried out to better understand how surfaces found on planetary bodies, such as asteroids, behave in low-gravity environments.

It will be the first set of experiments to fly on a new ISS research facility named Hermes. The experiments specifically will examine how different sizes and types of particles become distributed when gravity is low.

[Assistant Professor Adrienne Dove’s] research heavily involved students, offering them real-world experience and prestigious projects to add to their resumes.

“It’s similar to the Brazil nut effect,” Dove says. “If you have a container of mixed nuts –   peanuts, cashews and Brazil nuts – the Brazil nuts always come to the top. We think it’s dependent on gravity, so this experiment is trying to understand that but with realistic particle sizes for asteroid surfaces and in a low-gravity environment.”

The results will be used to help inform current and future asteroid-sampling and landing missions, including NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa2 missions.

The research heavily involved students, offering them real-world experience and prestigious projects to add to their resumes.

Dove is also slated to have her research fly aboard a suborbital flight by Zero Gravity Corp. this month from Sanford, Florida. The research, titled SLOPE, will examine how landslides happen in low gravity, and the results could inform future space-surface exploratory and construction efforts.

It is funded by NASA’s Undergraduate Student Instrument Project that promotes interest in learning about and pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

Julie Brisset, a research associate scientist in �����’s also had research headed to space recently. Although the EXOS Aerospace Systems & Technologies SARGE rocket launched with her research in early March did not reach the desired altitude and microgravity was not achieved, the flight was beneficial in pinpointing ways to improve hardware, including the camera, for the next flight.

“There’s so much excitement on liftoff … but now we have to wait to get our payloads back to see the data, and it’s very nerve-racking.” – Adrienne Dove, �鶹ӳ����ý assistant professor

Brisset’s project is designed to study how particles aggregate and collide in microgravity. EXOS is a developer and operator of reusable space vehicles and is based in Greenville, Texas.

John Quinn, chief operating officer for EXOS, says the March launch was the second reuse of the SARGE vehicle.

“Upon the next reuse, we anticipate achieving our target altitude and microgravity time with the �鶹ӳ����ý payload on board,” Quinn says.

Dove was at the west Texas facility to view the launch. She says she will be able to take a peek at the experiment’s performance via video footage this afternoon and that full data analysis will take place later.

“There’s so much excitement on liftoff, and they do call-outs of the altitude, when we’re in microgravity, which is my science time, and then it’s really impressive to see it come back down,” Dove says. “But now we have to wait to get our payloads back to see the data, and it’s very nerve-racking.”

Dove says this was her second time watching one of the flights in person.

“It’s always fun to watch the livestream, but seeing the flight in person is very exciting,” she says.

Interamerican aerospace engineering Professor Amilcar Rincon Charris and two of his students visited �鶹ӳ����ý this week to consult with �鶹ӳ����ý faculty and students about the construction of the miniature satellite called Puerto Rico CubeSat NanoRocks-2.

“We’ve been wanting to put a CubeSat into space since 2013,” Rincon said. “Now with our partnership with �鶹ӳ����ý, we are really close.”

Rincon met FSI associate researcher Julie Brisset last year after �鶹ӳ����ý became the lead organization managing the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Brisset has worked on several NASA CubeSats by preparing payloads, such as the NanoRocks project, which flew on the International Space Station for more than a year.

These satellites are compact, no bigger than a bread box. CubeSats, named for their cube shape, house experiments that look at everything from the role of dust in planet formation to determining the best kind of adhesive to use in space. These satellites now launched by private and public companies as well as NASA provide scientists an inexpensive opportunity to conduct experiments in space.

“Our students are building the CubeSat itself, and Julie and her team are building the scientific payload,” Rincon said. “Once we teamed up this way, NASA approved funding as part of the Launch Opportunities program. Now we can really see this happening.”

For the Puerto Rican team, this partnership could mean the island’s first satellite in space, with a target launch date of 2020.

“We’re very excited to see this project succeed and have Puerto Rico’s first satellite in space.”

“It would be historic,” Rincon said. “We are very proud, very excited about that.”

This CubeSat, which will study the role of dust in planet formation, is another example of the kind of growing impact �鶹ӳ����ý is having in space research, especially when it partners with other groups across the globe. to fly an experiment aboard a flight from commercial provider Blue Origin. Assistant Professor of physics Adrienne Dove is waiting to see her CubeSat launch from California next week and physics Professor Josh Colwell has another in the final stages of completion.

For Rincon, the project been a long road paved with challenges and opportunities for his students. About 40 students from Interamerican have worked on the project through the years. They include students majoring in mechanical, electrical and computer engineering as well as communications. Many of Rincon’s students have graduated and gone on to work for companies such as Honeywell and Florida Turbine Technologies, which have operations in Puerto Rico. One recent graduate is working at the Kennedy Space Center.

Currently, 15 students are working on the project.

There’s been another bonus for the current students on the project. At least two of them were able to visit Florida for the first time and �鶹ӳ����ý aerospace engineering major Jacob Kirstein visited Puerto Rico for the first time.

Brisset and Kirstein traveled to Bayamon this summer. They shared lessons learned from �����’s previous projects. This week Rincon and his students are at �鶹ӳ����ý to go over design plans and talk about potential challenges in the construction of the new CubeSat.

“This is a great project,” Brisset said. “It’s taking advantage of strengths on both sides. Almicar and his students are working on the vehicle and we are working on the science payload where we have some expertise. The biggest winners are all our students.”

Gabriel Cascante, an electrical engineering major from Interamerican, said he’s “learning how to work in a team, but not just by doing one little part of the project. We’re involved in every part of production and learning to find solutions where there aren’t any you can find in a textbook. It’s been a fabulous experience so far.”

Cascante and classmate Alexander Matta, have been working on the project about five months. The team initially assembled in August 2017 after hearing about Rincon’s project, but Hurricane Maria put a stop to everything, at least for a while.

“It was a major interruption,” Matta said. “We didn’t have electricity, water, nothing. I personally didn’t have light until a few days before New Year’s. Everything kind of stopped. But we’re so glad we’re back on track now. And having the opportunity to come here to exchange ideas has been good.”

Rincon said he builds an environment in his classroom and lab that mimics a company at which students are split into teams and given assignments. This �鶹ӳ����ý collaboration adds an international dimension to the realistic environment necessary to ensure his students can land jobs after earning their degrees, he said.

“We’ve been very successful,” Rincon said. “And we’re very excited to see this project succeed and have Puerto Rico’s first satellite in space. I can’t wait to see where we go next.”

�鶹ӳ����ý students are benefitting, too. Students who have worked on previous CubeSat projects have gone onto land jobs with NASA, the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and many private space companies.

“�鶹ӳ����ý is in the right place at the right time,” said Colwell. “There’s been big development of private providers and the demand for small satellites is exploding. I think we are very well positioned to ride the wave of opportunities to make an impact in space exploration and to develop new technology.”