New Mexico State University Tapped For New Program
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced
Thursday that the FAA has selected New Mexico State University
(NMSU), Las Cruces, NM, to lead a new Air Transportation Center of
Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation. The center is a
partnership of academia, industry, and government, developed for
the purpose of creating a world-class consortium that will address
current and future challenges for commercial space
transportation.
“The Obama Administration is committed to making sure the
United States remains the world leader in space development and
exploration,” said Secretary LaHood. “This new center
underscores that commitment, and will ensure that the commercial
space community can meet our current and future space
transportation needs.”
The Obama Administration recently released its new National
Space Policy, which recognizes opportunities and advancements in
commercial space transportation and lays out specific ways to use
commercial capabilities.
“Commercial space flight is ready to play a greater role
in the nation’s space program,” said FAA Administrator
Randy Babbitt (pictured, right). “Universities working with
industry partners will fuel the research necessary to help keep us
in the forefront of both technology and safety in space.”
Called the Center of Excellence for Commercial Space
Transportation, the new center is expected to begin operations this
month. The research and development efforts will include four major
research areas: space launch operations and traffic management;
launch vehicle systems, payloads, technologies, and operations;
commercial human space flight; and space commerce (including space
law, space insurance, space policy and space regulation). The FAA
will enter into 50-50 cost-sharing cooperative agreements to
establish the partnerships, with plans to invest at least $1
million per year for the initial five years of the center’s
operations.
New Mexico State University in Las Cruces will lead a team of
colleges and universities throughout the country. These
include: Stanford University in California, the Florida
Institute of Technology in Melbourne, the New Mexico Institute of
Mining and Technology in Socorro, the Florida Center for Advanced
Aero-Propulsion at Florida State University in Tallahassee, the
University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Texas
Medical Branch at Galveston.
Congress authorized Air Transportation Centers of Excellence
under the FAA Research, Engineering and Development Authorization
Act of 1990. This legislation enables the FAA to work with
universities and their industry partners to conduct research in
environment and aviation safety, and other activities to assure a
safe and efficient air transportation system. With the
establishment of this center, research will extend to cutting-edge
technologies and infrastructure for private human spaceflight and
orbital debris mitigation.
The United States’ space program has three sectors —
civil, military and commercial. The FAA’s Office of
Commercial Space Transportation is responsible for licensing,
regulating and promoting the commercial sector space industry.
Since the office was created in 1984, the FAA has issued licenses
for more than 200 launches, has licensed the operation of eight
FAA-approved launch sites known as spaceports, and has helped
ensure that no loss of life or serious injury has been associated
with these efforts.
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