| Issue 5 | Volume 147 | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | theavion.com |
Jack Taylor/The Avion Newspaper
SpaceX Launches CRS-10 Mission Henry Neiberlien News Editor The Falcon 9 launched from Florida for the first time since the September 1st anomaly, carrying a Dragon capsule destined for the International Space Station. The anomaly destroyed the launch infrastructure at Complex 40, SpaceX’s original Falcon 9 pad at Cape Canaveral, forcing SpaceX to rush completion of historic pad 39A. The last time LC-39A saw fire was during the last launch of the Space Shuttle in 2011. SpaceX now holds a ten-year lease on 39A and
plans to launch the Falcon Heavy from the pad later this year. The launch on early Sunday morning was immediately followed by another flawless landing at Landing Complex 1. This is the second first stage landing for SpaceX in 2017 and the first to return land back at the launch site since CRS-9 last year. This shows that the Falcon 9 can now reliably land successfully leading the way for the upgraded Block 5 Falcon 9, also scheduled to fly later this year, that will improve the ease of reusability. CRS-10 will arrive at the ISS on Wednesday
delivery important research supplies and cargo. Notable payloads on board include SAGE III (an experiment to monitor containments in the upper atmosphere), a microgravity crystal growth experiment, a Lightning imaging sensor, and stem cells, whose behavior will be obser-ved under the conditions of microgravity. The Dragon capsule will be unique temporary resident of the ISS, as it is the only cargo vehicle equipped with a heat shield, allowing astronauts to return completed experiments back to earth’s surface. SpaceX also hopes to reuses the
Dragon capsules on future missions, but since the capsule touches down in the ocean, salt water damage is the main concern. These efforts are to help SpaceX continue to lower the cost of its launches, which could potentially attract more customers by lowering the bar for accessing space. Not that SpaceX is in dire need of more payloads. CRS10 was just the beginning; SpaceX has a huge manifest to work down, with over fifteen launches from Florida scheduled for this year alone. SpaceX also seems to be operating more captiously in 2017. Elon Musk showed
that he and his company are not taking any chances by scrubbing the first launch attempt 13 seconds before liftoff after the launch control team was unable to ensure the second stage engine was vectoring normally. Twenty-four hours later, the Falcon successfully launched from the space coast. This was the second launch attempt for CRS-10. The first stage then returned, creating sonic booms on the way to touch down. With fire returning to 39A and another successful mission SpaceX has high hopes to continues to fly payloads and, starting next year, astronauts.
Pad 39A will also see the first SpaceX missions to Mars, with the initial Falcon Heavy cargo missions in 2022, and, eventually, the enormous Interplanetary Transportation System carrying colonists to the red planet. In the future, SpaceX will launch not only from Florida, but also from Vandenberg AFB, and, soon, South Texas. America’s premier commercial space company continues to drive the young industry, even with some teething troubles as it continues its rapid growth into a spacefaring powerhouse on the world’s stage.
Embry-Riddle Names New President Melanie Hanns Dir. of Media Relations Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Board of Trustees has named Dr. P. Barry Butler, Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Iowa, as the sixth president of the world’s leading institution of higher education focusing on aviation, aerospace and research. During a meeting Feb. 14 at the university’s headquarters in Daytona Beach, the Board unanimously appointed Dr. Butler to the position after he received across-the-board support from the Presidential
Search Committee that included trustees, faculty, staff and student representatives and delegates from the university’s Daytona Beach, Prescott, Ariz., and Worldwide campuses. Florida-based Greenwood/Asher & Associates led the executive search and worked in conjunction with the University search committee. “It is important to note that Dr. Butler received 100 percent endorsement from everyone involved in this search. From the members of the Presidential Search Committee and the Faculty Advisory Committee all of the way through the short
list to the final approval of the Board of Trustees, there was one name that consistently rose to the top. And that was Dr. Butler,” said Mori Hosseini, Chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Presidential Search Committee. “As a university, we thank Dr. Karen Holbrook for her interim leadership during the search for our president. We are confident that Dr. Butler will continue to take Embry-Riddle’s entire community to the next level.” Dr. Butler will assume his position as President on March 13. “I’m thrilled to be named
Embry-Riddle's next president and look forward to building upon the outstanding global reputation of the university,” said Dr. Butler. “The energy and passion of the faculty, students, staff and Board members I've met throughout the interview process made it clear I'm joining a very special institution.” Dr. Butler joined University of Iowa faculty in 1984 as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and subsequently progressed to the rank of professor. Before entering administration in 1998, Dr. Butler served as a member
of the Engineering Faculty Council, as well as University of Iowa’s Faculty Senate and Faculty Council. Other positions held by Dr. Butler at the University of Iowa include Department Executive Officer of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Interim Dean and Dean of Engineering, where he holds the rank of full professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. In his current role as provost, Dr. Butler has been responsible for more than 100 academic programs in the university’s
11 colleges, oversees the Division of Continuing Education, the Library and Art Museum and is responsible for a general education fund budget in excess of $700 million. He has been instrumental in advancing the university’s strategic plan, is responsible for coordinating the academic components of the arts campus rebuilding effort and provides leadership in the university’s recent cluster hiring initiatives in water sustainability, aging mind and brain, digital public arts, and humanities and informatics. Continued on A2