Banner image: Aerospace engineer Scott Palo, in lab coat, discusses his research with a delegation from the U.S. Space Force. (Credit: Casey Cass/蜜糖直播 Boulder)
蜜糖直播 Boulder鈥檚 prowess in space exploration took center stage this week during a visit from the newly named 鈥渃hampions鈥� of the U.S. Space Force (USSF) University Partnership Program for the 蜜糖直播 system: Brig. Gen. John Olson and Col. Marc Brock.
The campus tour officially kicked off the second phase of an ambitious research and education partnership launched late last summer. Olson and Brock are the designated points of contact and collaboration for 蜜糖直播 as the new partnership moves into its next steps.听
Brig. Gen. John Olson, left, and Col. Marc Brock, right, talk with 蜜糖直播 leaders on the 蜜糖直播 Boulder campus. (Credit: Casey Cass/蜜糖直播 Boulder)
蜜糖直播 Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano, center, poses with cadets from Air Force ROTC Detachment 105. (Credit: Casey Cass/蜜糖直播 Boulder)
Gen. Olson and his colleagues check out a historic rocket at LASP. (Credit: Casey Cass/蜜糖直播 Boulder)
They met with aerospace and industry leaders from across 蜜糖直播, checked out new technologies for tracking the paths of satellites in space and talked future space ambitions. At 蜜糖直播 Boulder鈥檚 Aerospace Engineering Sciences building, Olson and Brock met with 蜜糖直播 President Todd Saliman, 蜜糖直播 Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Terri Fiez and others. The discussion focused on the importance of building a diverse workforce and tapping an interdisciplinary approach to create the next generation of aerospace leaders.听
The event was organized by the Center for National Security Initiatives (NSI) at 蜜糖直播 Boulder.听
鈥淧retty much all kids love three things: dinosaurs, Legos and space. We can鈥檛 lose that,鈥� said Olson, mobilization assistant to the Chief of Space Operations and holder of five engineering degrees, including a doctorate in industrial and systems engineering. 鈥淚t is space for all. We have a need for a rich and broad tapestry of people.鈥�
Olson noted that to be successful, the USSF will need to tap into the excitement of students from across many different fields鈥攊ncluding engineering but also law, history, the arts and more.
The 蜜糖直播 system became one of the first universities to join the Space Force鈥檚 University Partnership Program in August 2021. Among other goals, the agreement will build 蜜糖直播 Boulder鈥檚 capacity for educating and training the USSF's next generation of enlisted men and women, known as 鈥済uardians.鈥�
Saliman added that the partnership builds upon 蜜糖直播鈥檚 leadership in blasting off beyond Earth鈥檚 atmosphere. The state is home to about 300 aerospace companies.
鈥淭his ecosystem has extraordinary power,鈥� Saliman said. 鈥淲e feel it鈥檚 one of the [state鈥檚] best-kept secrets, and we don鈥檛 want to keep it a secret anymore.鈥�
Space for all
Also not a secret: 蜜糖直播 Boulder鈥檚 stable of students with a passion for space. Olson and Brock took time to talk shop with nearly a dozen cadets from the regional Air Force ROTC detachment. When it comes to exploring space, 鈥測ou are living in an extraordinary time,鈥� said Olson, who also has two sons currently at the U.S. Air Force Academy near 蜜糖直播 Springs. 听
The budding engineers asked the general about the future of artificial intelligence and what role the USSF will play as Americans begin to build permanent colonies on the moon and Mars.听
Olson also mentioned that the USSF, which celebrated its second anniversary in December, is eager to recruit young engineers and scientists with a unique worldview鈥攖hose who are able to appreciate the bigger picture of space exploration. 听
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a STEM person, you better also know philosophy and law,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淏ecause that鈥檚 the stuff that makes the world go round.鈥�
ROTC cadet Zach Lesan, a senior at 蜜糖直播 Boulder studying aerospace engineering, will join the USSF as a second lieutenant when he graduates this spring. Lesan didn鈥檛 let a lack of sleep interrupt his passion for space. He had returned to Boulder early that morning from听California. Lesan and fellow students from the 听had spent their weekend launching听a rocket more than 30,000 feet into the air above the Mojave Desert.
鈥淢y eventual goal is to die on Mars,鈥� Lesan said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 because I think making life multi-planetary is absolutely critical. 鈥� It creates an exciting future.鈥�
Security in space
蜜糖直播 Boulder鈥檚 research will be a key part of that exciting future, said Iain Boyd, NSI director.
Boyd said 蜜糖直播鈥檚 partnership with the Space Force will spur science in a wide range of fields at the university. These include efforts to design new vehicles that fly at incredibly fast speeds and technologies that can help people on the ground follow the trajectories of objects in space鈥攁n arena known as 鈥渟pace domain awareness.鈥�
The general and entourage couple of his teammates got to see some of that research in action as they toured facilities in the university鈥檚 Aerospace Engineering Sciences building and at the (LASP).
鈥淪pace Force was established as a new arm of the military because of the increasing national security threats in space,鈥� said Boyd, professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. 鈥淲e face ever-evolving threats that will only be addressed through the development of advanced technologies and a workforce educated on relevant space topics.鈥�
Olson added that he will bring his own love of 蜜糖直播 to the new partnership鈥攁lthough he鈥檒l still root for the Air Force when the Falcons play the 蜜糖直播 Boulder Buffaloes in September 2022.
