2 Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Michigan Tech Lode
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NEWS
Michigan Tech Lode
LaSarge receives U.S. Air Force Cadet Research Award NICOLE IUTZI Lode Writer
On Aug. 23 Michigan Tech student and U.S. Air Force Cadet Jacob LaSarge was awarded the U.S. Air Force Cadet Research Award. LaSarge was singled out due to his work on the Aerospace Enterprise’s Oculus-ASR project. “The outstanding leadership and technical expertise provided by Cadet LaSarge on this unique and Air Force relevant research project has advanced this project further than anyone had imagined,” said Lt. Col. Michael Brothers, head of Aerospace Studies and commander of Michigan Tech’s Air Force ROTC program. Jacob LaSarge is a fifth year mechanical engineering student. He became a part of the enterprise team in 2010, as a member of the guidance, navigation and controls section. He quickly moved up within the team, and after one semester was the leader of the section. In spring 2011, LaSarge became the project manager for the Oculus Altitude and Shape Recognition (ASR) nonsatellite team. Currently he assumes leadership for 76 undergraduate students and a $210,000 plus budget for the development, and research of the enterprise. He reports regularly to the Air Force Research Laboratory. He also reports to Kirkland Air Force Base on a weekly basis to keep them updated. In January of 2011, the enterprise team won the Air Force Research Lab’s University Nanosatellite 6
competition. There were 11 teams in the competition, each of them hand picked from across the U.S. to design and build a small satellite or nanosatellite. Taking first place, the enterprise team then had the right to further develop their nonsatellite. LaSarge said he was excited about the continuation of the project. “As the project manager, Jake is the person responsible for ensuring all deadlines and deliverables are met, while maintaining the highest possible quality,” said Brothers. LaSarge played a large role in the designing and building of the satellite. “Cadet LaSarge took the lead in analyzing orbital disturbance torques likely to be encountered by the spacecraft, and used that information to determine if reaction wheels would be adequate for pointing accuracy and attitude control,” said Brothers. LaSarge also assisted with the development of the ASR simulation through merging components of the hardware and software of the satellite. “The spacecraft being designed by Cadet LaSarge’s team at MTU over the past several years is directly relevant to the USAF for advancement of space situational awareness, the evolving ISR mission, and development of future nanosatellites,” said Brothers. The completed satellite will be launched into orbit, although not for a year or two. LaSarge said he is sure the team members will be there for the launch. The Michigan Tech team will remain on the project. “The students will then be responsible for command
and control of the satellite, as well as future mission operations with AMOS and AFRL,” said Brothers. “Our vehicle is a spacebased calibration target for ground telescopes seeking to identify objects in space,” said LaSarge. The satellite will help the U.S. Air Force in keeping track of items in space, whether it is space junk or vehicles launched by other nations. The key is situational awareness, said LaSarge. Technology designed by Michigan Tech students will be used for the benefit of the Air Force, specifically the Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) is recognizing target-nation satellite habits, collection methods and pointing directions, said Brothers. AMOS sends orders and criteria directly to the team. “Previous winners of the competition have had communication issues relating to defective or faulty radio antennas; the MTU project is a pilot for new antenna procedures and designs, and the results could improve current Air Force capability,” said Brothers. The United States Air Force Cadet Research Award is awarded once a year and is a nationally affiliated award. “The award itself is a national Air Force Award -- which means it is a higher award than Air Force Baselevel awards, and even US Air Force Major Command Awards! Plus, it is only given out once per year, to only one AFROTC cadet in the nation,” said LaSarge. Ceremonies were held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.