LSU and NASA renewed their manufacturing partnership in the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing on June 16.
Joining all other universities in Louisiana, LSU uses the resources at NCAM to conduct further research in lightweight materials, such as carbon fiber. Every university in the state collectively works with a $600,000 budget provided by NASA in exchange for the research.
“NASA gives us the budget in order to promote collaboration between the universities in the state of Louisiana toward this end goal of making the state the premier research center for lightweight materials,” Rick Koubek, dean of the College of Engineering, said. “These materials are immediately applicable to different projects.”
One example of materials being used is the construction of the Space Launch System, the newest spaceship designed to carry astronauts into deep space. The spacecraft’s main goal is to be the first ship to bring a manned mission of astronauts to Mars. Before the mission, however, there is a decade’s worth of test launches scheduled before astronauts are allowed in space.
“Mars is the main goal. The first thing they’ll do is go to some asteroids,” Koubek said. “It will be far enough into the future that students in elementary school now will be the engineers for the Mars mission. ”
According to Koubek, NASA encourages students of all ages to get involved with the programs that NASA and LSU offer. At the most recent Space Day, put on by the College of Engineering on March 28, 2014, eighth graders competed to make a patch for the then-upcoming first flight to Orion.
“Lockheed Martin made the patch and put it in the payload, and it was flown into space,” Koubek said.
LSU students also get to access the resources NCAM has to offer by participating in internships or the more recent joint welding class offered for LSU and University of New Orleans students last spring.
Internships with NCAM allow students to work under contractors that are assembling the Space Launch System, whether it be at Lockheed Martin or Jacobs Engineering.
“After they graduate, they are prepared to continue working on the mission,” Koubek said.
One of the biggest symbols of the tight partnership is NASA flying LSU flags into space. None of the other universities in the South have had their flags flown into space yet.
“It’s so cool that LSU was on the last shuttle that ever went and the first Orion that was the follow-up to the space shuttle,” Koubek said. “The flags moved from lower orbit to deep space.”