This week, once again, I have been spending a lot of time with students and faculty at the Huntsville Center for Technology (HCT). The excitement is in the air as we near some very big milestones on our Engineering Development Lander (EDL), rover, and moonscape.

Several instructors at the school lead efforts related to the Rocket City Space Pioneers (RCSP) project. Mike Evans is leading a group of students in his CAD area putting together the full scale EDL. John Stingel leads the students doing robotics with Dynetics volunteer Charles Tullock, while instructor Tim White provides machine shop support. Jimmy Roberts leads the students on the moonscape, and the Auto Body Department led by Jacoby Rice has done the painting.

There are many things on the lander and rover that needed welding, so instructor Mark Pilotte directs students as needs have popped up on welding fronts. Mike Soutullo, our partner from Teledyne Brown Engineering, and I have been working with students on various fronts of design and construction. We have been doing a lot of logistics related to component/hardware acquisition. These folks are really working hard for us to have some major 2011 accomplishments behind us.

The instructors and students are doing a great job putting all of these parts together to make for some very cool-looking hardware. This last week, we were assembling aluminum landing struts for the lander, riveting parts, machining, and doing a lot of final detail fit checks and part placements. This is the fun part. The lander looks amazing with the legs. It was a special moment for our team to see that. We also have foil insulation everywhere, and wrapping a lander is like wrapping a Christmas gift – a very large one! Lots of fitting, cutting with scissors, and taping!

The rover looks cool, too. It looks like the configuration that we plan to fly. It has a camera, and we are adding another one. John Stingel showed me some of the new parts for suspension, camera boxes, integrated electronics, etc. I took by some video monitors so we can see what will be happening onboard from the rover's perspective. They showed me some of the new wheels and even some that we are having built as I type.

The moonscape is nearly complete. The crew is doing a great job putting the final touches on what will be a great place to play with our rover. The moonscape has been built and painted, and now it is awaiting the simulant lunar dust. We will have to stay tuned to see what the best choice for that is.

Thanks again, HCT and Volunteers!