NSBE Space
2008-2009 Projects
A Special Interest Group of the National
Society of Black Engineers
Administrative Projects
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NSBE Space Board Leadership
Retreat |
NSBE Space leaders will gather
for an annual weekend session to organize SIG activity and team build. This annual meeting will allow the Space
Board of Directors to develop 1, 2, 5, and 10 year plans for projects,
fundraising, and other activity. An
in-person meeting of the entire board is important for focus, bonding, and
commitment-building. This year’s
retreat will be held at NSBE World Headquarters and NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, with portions combined with the NSBE SIG Leadership Retreat. |
Technology R&D Projects
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Kiswahili for “He makes fly
(into the skies)”, Project Arusha is a research initiative to create a
conceptual design for a 48-person lunar facility, intended as an
international government/commercial venture to be deployed in the timeframe
after NASA Exploration initiatives recently underway. Through Arusha, NSBE Space seeks to provide
a future vision for human space activity and utilization of the Moon
following NASA’s initial return to the Moon.
Its purpose is to drive discussions to accelerate the commercial use
of the Moon, in line with the provisions of the National Aeronautics and
Space Act. It is our vision that a
lunar facility should be established to serve as an incubator for lunar
corporations, providing a process to grow Moon-based industries and spin them
off to build independent settlements.
The first Moonbase Arusha element of technical focus in 2005-2006 was
a Pressurized Rover design to be captured in multiple papers by NSBE Space
engineers. An overview paper of the
rover was presented at the 2006 ASCE Earth & Space Conference. Subsequent activity has continued to define
rover systems and is expanding to address other Moonbase elements. |
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Small
Satellites |
This multiple
phase research program will enable NSBE Space to understand the process of manufacture
and launch of small satellites. The
ultimate goal is the NSBE design and launch of a series of small
satellites. This will provide hands-on training for
professionals, undergraduate and graduate students interested in developing
satellite missions. An intial call for
proposals has resulted in the identification of NSBESAT 1 as a space
telescope and NSBESAT 2 as an inteferometric array of space telescopes. Current work surrounds the conceptual design
of NSBESAT 1, leading to detailed design specifications and assembly
blueprints. |
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This multi-year project
will culminate in a two-week expedition to the Mars Desert Research Station
in Utah. This facility, built and
operated by the Mars Society, provides a full-immersion into a Mars-analogue
environment, allowing research teams to study various aspects of life on
Mars. The research activities
conducted at the station is intended to contribute to future missions to Mars
by space agencies and potentially private space organizations. An initial call for proposals has resulted
in the identification of three scientific and engineering investigations to
conduct during one or more expeditions. Current work involves refining these
investigations and developing additional areas of research. |
Meeting and Conference Projects
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PD Space |
PD Space is the suite of
NSBE Space Special Interest Group activities at NSBE’s regional Professional
Development Conferences. PD Space
activity is planned for the 2008 conference season at the Region 2, 3, 5, and
6 PDCs. PD Space features information
and updates regarding NSBE Space projects and professional development workshops
of general interest to space professionals, advocates, and enthusiasts. |
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SpaceTech |
SpaceTech 2007 is the NSBE
Space Special Interest Group’s technical seminar session at the 2007 Region 5
Strategic Planning and Research Conference.
SpaceTech features technological research of NSBE Space, reports and
assessments of other space technologies, exhibits in the Region 5 Technology
Expo, and a small hospitality suite.
NSBE Space provided one workshop and an exhibit at the 2005 SPRC and
two workshops and an exhibit at the 2006 SPRC. |
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NSBE Galactic |
NSBE Space
hosts the NSBE Galactic track at the NSBE Annual National Convention,
including lunches or other meal events and a seminar series. It provides national NSBE visibility for
the Space SIG and is a key opportunity to expose prominent members of the
space community to NSBE. This has been
an ideal venue for establishing MOUs with other organizations and was used in
2006 to facilitate a MOU between NSBE and the National Space Society. |
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Aerospace Systems Conference |
NSBE Space is
partnering with the NSBE Aerospace SIG to create a new NSBE conference. The first purely technical NSBE conference,
the Aerospace Division Conference will be held February 19-24, 2010,
featuring ten tracks of focused aeronautics
and astronautics technological research.
The conference will be held in the Los Angeles area. |
Outreach & Education Projects
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Project Zero Gravity |
NSBE Space is developing a
long-range strategy for exposing NSBE members and ultimately the Black
community to reduced gravity flight opportunities. A vanguard flight in March of 2008 took the
first step of placing a NSBE member in zero gravity through a NSBE program. The next stage is a pilot program being
developed and managed by the Houston Space Chapter called the Houston Floating
Laboratory. This program creates
mentoring teams of engineers, teachers, and students who fly together in
reduced gravity and then present their experiences to local area students. Pending the success of this program, the
Floating Laboratory concept will be expanded to other cities. NSBE Space will also explore additional
paradigms for reduced gravity flight experiences, including reduced gravity
sports, tourism flights, and other yet-to-be-determined formats. |
Advocacy Projects
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Space Policy |
NSBE Space is taking a
proactive stance to positively impact the space industry by authoring and
advocating space policies to strengthen the US civil and commercial space
programs. NSBE has joined forces with
the National Space Society (NSS) and the Space Exploration Alliance (SEA) to participate
in the SEA Space Blitz missions to Congress. The Space SIG has also authored a space
policy recommendation for the United States, which it has distributed to
several members of Congress. Through
the Houston Space Chapter, it also assisted in the addition of key lines
supporting space policy in the Texas Democractic Platform and passed space
resolutions in several Texas districts. |
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