HR: 08:15h
AN: ED11F-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Hands-on Space Experiments from Cradle to Grave: The Role of the Sounding Rocket Program in Developing Human Infrastructure
AU: * Chakrabarti, S
EM: supc@bu.edu
AF: Boston University, Center for SPace Physics 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 United States
AB: Sounding rockets in university research provide a unique opportunity to train future space scientists and engineers. Besides fitting the typical schedule of a student, they allow a small group of students to be involved in all aspects of a space project from its inception through execution to a conclusion involving scientific discovery. Furthermore, universities with sounding rocket programs are cradles of innovations where the interdisciplinary nature of space experimentation is nurtured. These programs have formed the core research of many of the current Principal Investigators of NASA Space Science Missions. Additionally, they typically involve a large number of undergraduate students who gain in-depth experience into well-defined and critical components of a space mission. Researchers involved in sounding rocket experiments typically develop the science payload consisting of one or more instrument with the NASA Sounding Rocket Program Office (SRPO) providing all support necessary to make the science program a success. Unlike satellite missions, the sounding rocket experiments offer an opportunity to take more risks in terms of their science return. Some of these risks come in the form of new technology invention and development. Sounding rockets, with their flexible schedule and fewer formal procedural requirements, thus play an important role in maturing technology and developing new capabilities for satellite missions. The Student Launch Program was designed by NASA to provide a new opportunity where space science took a back seat to education and training. The program required that the proposing team provide components such as the nose cone, power and telemetry systems, which are typically provided to rocket experimenters by SRPO. The students involved in such programs thus gained invaluable experience with "mini-satellite" missions. We believe that they are essential for the long-term vitality of the space program and maintaining a technology-savvy workforce of the 21st Century. In this talk we will highlight the unique aspects of several sounding rocket experiments. We will also describe a Student Launch Program where the proposal was developed as a class project in the astronomy department at Boston University and the flight hardware were built through the Senior Design Projects class in the College of Engineering.
DE: 6630 Workforce
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005