America is the world’s leading space-faring nation, and our nation’s military capabilities are increasingly dependent upon space.  Recent press reports of a Chinese anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon test in space underscore the rapid development of military space capabilities by other nations, and highlight the need for robust and highly capable US space forces.  The US Air Force is the executive agent for space within the US Department of Defense and owns the greatest percentage of manpower, infrastructure, and budget devoted to military space.  The 2001 Space Commission, chaired by the Honorable Donald Rumsfeld, placed a strong emphasis upon career-long technical education for military space professionals.  AFIT’s Center for Space Studies and Research (CSSR) was established in 2005 to ensure that AFIT is the leader and graduate school of choice for the military space cadre.  The Center’s Vision is to “deliver unrivaled military space education and research.”

AFIT has a proud history of educating leaders for our nation’s space program.  Two of the original seven Mercury astronauts, Gus Grissom and Gordon Cooper, graduated from AFIT.  To date, thirteen AFIT graduates have flown in space, including our nation’s first African-American astronaut in space, Colonel (Ret) Guion Bluford.  The Father of the Air Force’s space and ballistic missile programs, the late General Bernard Schriever, was an AFIT graduate.  An AFIT graduate, General (Ret) Robert Herres, was the first Commander of Air Force Space Command and US Space Command.  CSSR will build upon this legacy to ensure that AFIT is responsive to the needs of the National Security Space community. 

The Center is actively engaged with senior Air Force, sister service, and Department of Defense leaders to advocate for increased technical graduate education for space cadre members.  We place special emphasis on ensuring that AFIT’s curriculum and research support Air Force Space Command’s mission needs in space control, space force application, space force enhancement, and space support.  In response to Space Command’s needs, we developed and are offering a Graduate Space Systems Certificate program by distance learning to military space professionals at major space installations such as Kirtland AFB NM, Peterson AFB CO, and Los Angeles AFB CA.  This certificate program provides the foundation of AFIT’s Masters in Systems Engineering- Space Track degree by Distance Learning.  We also place a high priority on meeting the educational and research needs of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).  With NRO’s support, AFIT established an on-site capability for classified education and research to better support the intelligence and classified space communities. 

The Center is working closely with the AFRL Technology Directorates to establish additional space-related research connections for AFIT faculty and students. With the help of the AFRL Propulsion Directorate, AFIT recently acquired a space environment vacuum facility (similar to the one pictured at right) to give AFIT student and faculty researchers the capability to analyze advanced satellite propulsion systems such as the Hall Effect electric thruster. 

Hall Effect electric propulsion systems are now entering service as seen on the recent launch of the Air Force TacSat2 satellite in December 2006.  The image shown below is a temperature plot taken at an AFRL facility to support life limiting surface heating research performed by AFIT. 

With the new in-house capability to characterize thruster performance, research can be directed toward developing better thruster designs, improving performance, and potentially doubling the operational life.

Future military satellites will require very large and lightweight structures for improved remote sensing.  The structures must be small enough to fit on a launch vehicle and deploy into space to the final large remote sensing configuration.  AFIT students have designed and built a space experiment to demonstrate and test the performance of a promising class of such materials, rigidized inflatable thermoplastics, in the space environment.  AFIT students successfully completed all NASA safety reviews for the experiment, which is scheduled to fly on the Space Shuttle in December 2007.

 Space will be increasingly important to the Air Force in the future as more Air Force missions transition to the ultimate high ground of space.  As a result of this growing space mission, we expect an increased flow of military and civilian space cadre students to AFIT in the future and are planning for the research facilities and connections to give those students an unsurpassed educational experience at AFIT.  The AFIT Center for Space Studies and Research will help ensure that AFIT is the graduate school of choice for Air Force space professionals.