ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
NASA astronauts Michael Massimino, left, and James Newman, currently serving as Acting Provost at NPS, perform an extravehicular activity (EVA) in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Columbia during the STS-109 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope in 2002. Source: Courtesy photo by NASA
As much as technical innova- tion drives the successes of the NPS space education program, there’s also a great need for understanding the big picture of space—well beyond hard- ware and software. “Orbits, particularly LEO, are get- ting very crowded by the rapidly in- creasing number of satellites and the growing number of countries and companies entering space,” said Clay Moltz, a member of SSAG and profes- sor in NPS’ Department of National Security Affairs. “How are we going to keep these orbits safe? How can we manage the new commercial traffic, the orbital debris, and the increasing military competition in space?” As part of their coursework, all Space Systems students learn how history and policy impact the current and future use of space. After gradu- ating from NPS, they will be better prepared with the knowledge and know-how needed to answer ques- tions, like those posed by Moltz, and address the challenges that await on and over the horizon. “NPS continues to contribute to the Naval space enterprise by
working hard to stay relevant in the ever-changing realm of crowded low- Earth orbits and contested cislunar space,” said Newman. “Graduates from across NPS conduct thesis and capstone research of immediate and future impact and, even more impor- tantly, are ready to contribute their updated critical thinking skills and space-related knowledge to the ben- efit of the country’s defense program.” During the flight of Apollo 17 in December 1972, NPS graduate Gene Cernan became the last human to set foot on the moon. Now, NASA is ramping up the Artemis program for the United States’ return to the lunar surface, with Artemis I orbiting the moon without a crew in 2022. For Artemis II, scheduled for launch in 2025, NPS alumnus and Navy Capt. Victor Glover will serve as pilot and join three other astronauts on a flyby mission around the moon—the first return to lunar orbit by humans in more than 50 years. LINEHAN is the science writer for the Naval Postgraduate School. He holds a B.S. in phys- ics and an M.S. in materials science. Early in his career as an engineer, Linehan worked
on lasers, superconductors, and microchips. His experience also includes working for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and as a science expert for educational publish- ing companies. Linehan has authored two aerospace books, including SpaceShipOne: An Illustrated History and an award-winning multimedia novel. The author may be contacted at: pao@nps.edu. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the Department of Defense. Reproduction or reposting of articles from Defense Acquisition magazine should credit the authors and the magazine.
DAU Resources
DAU and NPS have a memorandum of agreement that allows for integration of DAU training into graduate- level NPS coursework. NPS students can receive credit toward DAWIA certifications at no cost to them.
66 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION ONLINE | March-April 2025
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