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Space Grant Projects and Missions

US ORBITS Space Mission

The California Space Institute (Calspace)of the University of California San Diego (UCSD)is preparing to submit a proposal (titled "US ORBITS") in response to the Universities Space Research Association's (USRA) Announcement of Opportunity, "Student Explorer Demonstration Initiative". The opportunity is to conduct space-flight missions in a pilot program to test the efficacy of low cost smaller space-flight missions for civil space research and the feasibility of using converted military strategic missiles to launch such missions. Through the support of NASA and the U.S. Air Force, three polar orbiting missions will be conducted within a three-year period and with a total mission costs not to exceed $24 million.

Calspace (UCSD) will be the prime contractor with appropriate subcontractors for science and engineering responsibilities. The extremely low budgets for the mission ($8 million total with $3.8 million for instrument and satellite development) necessitates a unique partnership between the academic institutions and industry. Innovative approaches to personnel (using students as the primary labor force while being assisted by experienced mentors) and hardware acquisition (acquiring spares and R&D prototypes) are mandated by the low budgets. The attached sheets lists the US ORBITS team of faculty, students and industry mentors. The UCSD faculty and students involved come from a number of science and engineering departments.

EarthRise Project

The EarthRise Project is a student research project in cooperation with Johnson Space Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, San Diego State which involves developing a new and improved electronic database storage and access system for the Shuttle Earth images.  This project will take advantage of the existing capabilities (Space Grant Scientific Visualization and Multimedia Curriculum Center) and human talent (faculty and students) established by the NASA sponsored California Space Grant Program. The Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR C) Mission in Spring 1994 will be the first operational test of EarthRise system. The following UCSD faculty and students are involved in this project:

[Faculty]
[Sally K Ride]      
[Physics]
         
[Michael Wiskerchen]
[CalSpace]

[Undergrad Students]
[Jennifer Leonard]
[AMES]

[Bonnie Newkirk]
[AMES]

[Space Chemistry]

[Faculty]
[James Arnold]
[Chemistry]

[Post Doctoral]
[Alak Thakur]
[Chemistry]

[Candice Cole]
[Chemistry]