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Team STELLAR presents to the North Carolina Aerospace Alliance

stellar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:23:39 -0800

The North Carolina Aerospace Alliance is a recently formed coalition of aviation and aerospace companies working together to grow these industries within the state. Currently a project of the North Carolina Military Business Center, later this month it will receive its formal designation as a non-profit organization and begin operating independently of the NCMBC.

The Alliance conducts quarterly one-day meetings around the state for member companies to present their products and services and seek new customers, suppliers, and partnerships. I presented my "Introduction to the NewSpace Industry" at last quarter's meeting at Global TransPark, and several companies, especially composites manufacturers, see future business opportunities. This quarter's meeting is today, and Richard Dell is presenting Team STELLAR as part of our ongoing engagement of North Carolina companies.
- Jeff Krukin

Third of three interviews with Steven Kaiser, a high school senior and Team STELLAR volunteer

stellar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:00:16 -0800

Second of three interviews with Steven Kaiser, a high school senior and Team STELLAR volunteer

stellar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:49:23 -0700

First of three interviews with Steven Kaiser, a high school senior and Team STELLAR volunteer

stellar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:55:28 -0700

Getting to the Moon Requires Engineers... and More

stellar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:40:37 -0700

As we continue our progress in establishing volunteer teams to support non-engineering activities, I am continuously reminded that no matter how brilliant our engineers, we will not succeed without attending to legal, financial, media, and other non-technical matters. Fortunately, we not only have exceptional people working together within their teams, but the team leaders have established lines of communication between their respective teams. I have been pleased to see how individuals with certain specialties feel confident and capable to make suggestions to other teams whose responsibilities fall outside their own skill sets.

This reminds me of an example of how the cohesive team that was so successful during the DC-X project fifteen years ago was willing to listen to and learn from people outside their areas of expertise. During the DC-X Reunion in August, Henry Wichman told the story of a meeting involving himself, a group of students who were hired to design the passenger module for the future full-size Delta Clipper, and McDonnell Douglas managers. The engineers, cognizant of the need to save weight, had designed the vehicle with just one door on the side of the vehicle that would open to accept payload and passenger modules. A liberal arts student pointed out that, "You can't do that. What happens if the vehicle falls over on the side that has the door? Passengers won't be able to get out." As Henry told it, there was silence in the room for what seemed like an eternity, and then one of the engineers said, "You're right."

Learning to set aside one's own ego and hear and consider ideas from outside your own group, whether you accept them or not, is a hallmark of any successful endeavor. As our students from many disciplines work together, I see another value of the GLXP challenge taking shape, and I hope humanity will take this to the Moon and beyond... along with our brilliant engineering.
- Jeff Krukin

The Moon is a teaser, the solar system the prize... with the right propulsion system

stellar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:51:18 -0700

NPL associates, a Team STELLAR partner, has developed a novel all-liquid fuel cell with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as the fuel and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or air as the oxidizer. Waste products are water and sodium metaborate, which can be recycled to produce new sodium borohydride either at a central plant (currently feasible) or in the fuel cell itself (currently in development). An optimized version of the test cell generated 36-W at ~ 60ºC, representing one of the highest power density reported to date for a small fuel cell working at sub-100°C. A 500W stack has been developed and is now operational.

HIGHLIGHTS
- The fuel is environmentally safe and non flammable
- The liquid fuel minimizes cooling issues, in comparison to H2/O2 systems
- The theoretical potential of NaBH4/H2O2 fuel cells is 2.23 V, compared to 1.23 V for H2/O2 fuel cells, so fewer cells are needed to construct a stack of reasonable voltage
- NaBH4/H2O2 much less volatile than H2/O2 or gasoline
- No need for heavy structural tanks to store pressurized gasses
- No need to cryogenically store the liquid fuels
- NaBH4/H2O2 is much less toxic to humans than gasoline

More information is available at http://www.avrc.com/presentations/Sodium_Borohydride_Fuel_Cell_AVRC.ppt and http://www.avrc.com/presentations/NPL_AVRC_NCSU_Seminar.ppt

- Jeff Krukin

The Truth is Out There: Students Love NewSpace!

stellar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:04:56 -0700

I've already written about the tremendous response we have received from students in North Carolina, and we still get email from students in other states... and nations. As wonderful as this is, it's even better to have face-to-face conversations with these young NewSpace advocates, especially outside the US.

Last week I participated in the American Bar Association’s annual Air & Space Law Forum in Montreal. I was part of the “Private Human Spaceflight Considerations” panel chaired by Patti Smith, former Associate Administrator of the US Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, and I gave an overview of the NewSpace industry, its six sectors(1), and a projected time frame for suborbital, orbital, and lunar NewSpace activity. The forum was co-sponsored by McGill University’s Institute for Air and Space Law, and many current and former McGill students were in the audience. I was delighted to be almost surrounded by them after our panel ended, as they were quite excited about the topic. Two young ladies, one a recent McGill graduate and the other still in school, told me about their plans to start a NewSpace consulting business in their home country of Mexico… and then they asked me to help. It's one thing to be excited about something and merely watch, it's quite another to act upon your desire to create an industry in your own country.

Another student was thrilled with the development of commercial spaceports and shared with me his pre-publication manuscript, “Law and Regulation Governing U.S. Commercial Spaceports: Licensing, Liability, and Legal Challenges."

During the reception that evening, I spoke with more students, and the common theme was a powerful excitement about and belief in the NewSpace industry, and a desire to enter the legal profession to support the industry’s development. If these students are any indication, the world has no idea what's coming.

(1) During my work with various non-space companies and economic development professionals, I've been frequently asked to provide an overview of the NewSpace industry. Inspired by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), it occurred to me that the NewSpace industry and its companies need a similar structure, so I've identified six sectors that comprise this industry: atmospheric flight, suborbital transportation, orbital transportation, orbital destinations, commercial spaceports, and service and support. This has been well-received during my conference presentations and in my proposals, so it seems a good start to what will undoubtedly evolve with the industry and contributions of others.

- Jeff Krukin

Team STELLAR volunteers review a lunar map as part of the mission planning phase during volunteer coordination meeting

stellar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:23:16 -0700

Yesterday marked our first major volunteer coordination meeting, with about 70 volunteers in attendance. After breaking into two primary groups, technical and business/operations, we then organized around our mission sub-teams and began developing strategic goals and plans for each.

It was an amazing experience to be in the presence of so much passion, determination, and desire to make a difference. From a 16-year old student attending with his mother to locally employed engineers to a retired Apollo-era engineer from Marshall Space Flight Center (seen in the video below), Team STELLAR has been blessed with a tremendous amount of talent

Team STELLAR core managers Richard Dell, Alan Rich, Joel Raupe, and Jason Clark are to be commended for this meeting.

-Jeff Krukin

Team STELLAR to hold first volunteer coordination meeting this Sunday

stellar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:21:20 -0700

I previously reported on the incredible response we have received from students, NASA retirees, and all ages and skill-sets in-between as a result of solid local media coverage and internet reporting. This Sunday, Team STELLAR's core management will hold its first volunteer coordination meeting with these dedicated people. Volunteers, depending on their desires and skills, will be matched with the individual business and technology sub-teams. Each of these sub-teams will then pick their leader and vice-leader and determine how they will work together after this meeting (frequency of meetings, communication tools, etc.) to develop their sub-team's strategic plan and present it to the core management team.

I'll have more to report next week.

- Jeff Krukin

Team Stellar was interviewed on WUNC National Public Radio today

stellar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:56:26 -0700

Team Stellar was interviewed on WUNC National Public Radio today, and you can listen to this five-minute conversation at http://www.teamstellar.org/sot0905a08.mp3.

Thank you to Richard Dell and Alan Rich for a fine job, and for demonstrating that even a conversation about space can include F-22 Raptors, University of NC tote bags, and Buffalo, NY.

- Jeff Krukin