INSTITUTE Cadets Collaborate with NASA Engineers Interfacing with engineers at NASA’s “My project was taking the GRA – Gov- ing power,” Cicero continued. “[At VMI] Langley Research Center is an opportunity ernment Reference Array – and seeing if we only have a limited amount, so they not afforded most undergraduates, but four it was scalable up to a one megawatt-class were providing a lot more capabilities at 1st Class cadets, under the direction of solar array structure, which means it’s go- our disposal as well as troubleshooting Col. Joe Blandino, professor of mechani- ing to have to support 5,000 square meters technical help.” cal engineering, were able to do just that. of solar blankets in outer space,” said Last fall, NASA issued requests for NASA engineers assisted Luke Butler ’14 Butler, who is entering the engineering proposals under the Small Business Inas he worked on his honors thesis, while science and mechanics doctoral program novative Research Program. “One of the Paul Cicero ’14, Kelvin Ulloa ’14 and at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State topics was related to developing software tools for designing future large solar arVictor de Leon ’14 completed a yearlong University. senior design project. Their work also “Our project focused more on the actual rays,” Blandino explained. Since this is a led to VMI’s involvement in a successful deployable system that they use to deploy fairly new area for MotionPort, the company sought out Blanproposal resulting in a dino’s expertise. Staff NASA Phase I Small there knew he had been Business Innovative running simulations using Research Grant to a the company’s software, computer-aided engineering – simulation – and he was active in the company, MotionPort, spacecraft community with which Blandino working on deployable is collaborating on softstructures. “We’ll be usware design tools for ing the toolboxes they’ve spacecraft hardware. developed for their RecurDyn multi-body dy“Normally our senior namic modeling software, design course is one and we’ll be giving them semester, but the group feedback, as well as prowanted to work on a viding documentation on project that was more the use,” Blandino said. challenging than could VMI will receive three be accomplished dur- Col. Joe Blandino talks with cadets, from left, Kevin Ulloa, Luke Butler, ing the semester,” said Paul Cicero and Victor de Leon. $49,000 licenses for cadet Blandino. “I hope what use. “We’re hoping if this we can come up with is a well-understood the solar blankets as soon as the satellite is successful that NASA would choose this and well-designed solar array that indus- is launched into space,” said Ulloa, who for Phase II – there’s much more money try could pick up, integrate into a space commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps. behind those, because they’re paying you craft and send ... off on at least a Mars “We were taking a closer look at what to do the commercial development of the flyby in the next 10 years,” he explained. stresses the hinges and other structures are product – to market this to the spacecraft Solar arrays capture sunlight and turn it going to be experiencing during deploy- design community.” into energy for solar-electric propulsion. ment – determining if the keel [primary After all, a human mission to Mars may “I was 6 years old when man walked on structural] beams sustained any failures in sound like science fiction, but for Blandino the moon, and the next logical step was, the hinges,” explained Cicero, who com- it’s the future. “When the pilgrims came ‘We’re heading to Mars,’ and that never missioned in the U.S. Air Force and will [to the New World], it was about a 60-day happened. ... But I think maybe the time continue working in space operations in journey. It’s a little bit longer than that to is coming where that is going to happen,” the Satellite Command and Control divi- get to Mars right now, but we’re talking sion. “Langley allowed us to use some of about the same magnitude as it took to Blandino continued. The research these cadets completed will their systems and some of their process- send the pilgrims to the New World or the be one of thousands of critical pieces in ing capabilities, because the programs we colonists to Jamestown. ... It’s not beyond the bigger picture of that mission to Mars. were running ... required a lot of process- the realm of possibility.”
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