COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. Innovation divisions of the U.S. Army and Air Force will work cooperatively with faculty researchers at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to explore near-space opportunities, according to a draft memorandum of understanding.
The agreement will be completed in official ceremonies scheduled for 10:30 a.m. July 22 in Room 408 Main Hall on the UCCS campus. Pam Shockley-Zalabak, chancellor, and Jeremy Haefner, dean, Engineering and Applied Sciences, will represent the university. Kirby Brown, director, Army Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab, will represent the Army. Col. Patrick Rhodes, commander, Air Force Space Battle Lab, will represent the Air Force.
The agreement establishes a mechanism for the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Army Forces Strategic Command, Army Space and Missile Defense Future Warfare Center, Army Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab, the Space Warfare Center, the Air Force Space Battle Lab, and the UCCS Space and Near-Space Research Lab to collaborate and to share information of mutual interest. The collaboration is expected to lead to a wide range of joint research activities. The first joint research project began July 1 and involves the Army Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab and UCCS.
“I am pleased that UCCS faculty will join with like-minded individuals interested in exploring new ideas surrounding space and near-space research,” Shockley-Zalabak said. “It is appropriate that we celebrate the first step in what I believe will be ground-breaking work.”
Near-space is roughly defined as 12 to 62 miles above Earth. This territory is often called “no-man’s land” because air at that altitude is too thin to support most aircraft yet Earth’s gravity is too thick to allow an un-boosted satellite to remain in orbit. This relatively unexplored area offers military and civilian researchers great opportunity for discovery as well as for potential cost savings over conventional satellites.
“Putting a device into near-space is easier and much less expensive than launching something into orbit 20,000 miles up,” David Schmidt, professor, Aerospace Engineering, said. “Achieving success in this area, however, will require us to carefully rethink how things are done.”
Current near-space applications include high-altitude balloons, airships, manned and unmanned heavier-than-air vehicles that can do everything from monitor weather to serve as communications and surveillance platforms. One near-space platform located at 65,000 feet over Colorado, for example, could eliminate the need for nearly all ground-based cell-phone towers. Exploring the limits of existing systems and developing new, reliable ways to realize the opportunities of near space are examples of possible areas of collaboration between the military and UCCS faculty.
For more information about near-space, visit http://www.afa.org/magazine/July2005/0705near.asp
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,800 students annually.