WHO WE ARE ––—
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University offers the world’s premier collection of programs in aviation, aerospace, engineering, business, security and intelligence. Students immerse themselves in real-world research, pushing boundaries and reaching new career frontiers. By the time they graduate, they’ve interned at top flight companies, probed the farthest reaches of the solar system and helped unravel the deepest mysteries of the human body, all in preparation for future success. Where will your future take you? Find out at our campuses in Florida, Arizona or Online anywhere in the world.
BACHELOR’S PROGRAMS ///
F L A Z WO
a a
Aeronautical Science — Fixed Wing
a
Aeronautical Science — Rotary
a a a
Aeronautics
a a
Aerospace Engineering
a
Aerospace Physiology
a
Aerospace and Occupational Safety
a a
Air Traffic Management
a
Applied Biology
a a
Astronomy and Astrophysics
a a a
Aviation Business Administration
a
Aviation Maintenance
a
Aviation Maintenance Science
a a
Business Administration
a
Business Analytics
a
Civil Engineering
a a
Communication
a
Computational Mathematics
a a
Computer Engineering
a
Computer Science
Conceptual rendering of space debris orbiting around Earth.
a
Cyber Intelligence and Security
ENGINEERING
a
Data Science
Houston, We’ve Got a Space Junk Problem With much of the world dependent on functioning orbital satellites, keeping them safe from damage by increasing amounts of orbiting space debris has become a high-priority mission for all types of spaceflight operators, NASA chief among them. And that’s where a team of Embry-Riddle students is coming in.
a a
Electrical Engineering
a
Emergency Services
a
Engineering
a
Engineering Physics
a
Engineering Technology
a
Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination
a
Forensic Biology
a
Forensic Psychology
INTERNSHIP OPENS THE DOOR Bigger was an intern at Johnson Space Center in 2019, working in the modeling department within the Orbital Debris Program Office learning different methods of simulating orbital debris fields, populations, densities and causes in the past, present and future. “This information helped our team to really recognize what the actual problems were in the first place, the difficulties of cleaning space debris and what parts of low earth orbit need cleaning the most,” Bigger said. When the fall term started, the Embry-Riddle team used the information Bigger had gathered to piece together a shield solution that had potential and could be readily implemented into a test facility within their time and monetary budgets.
A member of NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office invited Team Zero-G to Houston so they could conduct hyper- velocity impact tests for their Project ORION (Orbital RemediatION) spacecraft at the Experimental Impact Laboratory. He even arranged to have some supplies donated for the team’s tests. PASSING THE TESTS Once in the NASA lab, Team Zero-G did six test firings, each of which took about 90 minutes to set up. The tests helped them settle on a final shield design for their satellite. “The results turned out amazing and above all of our expectations for an undergraduate capstone project,” Bigger wrote, “We took a tremendous amount of care in manufacturing and assembling the five shield variants. No penetration occurred in any of the designs.” The team celebrated their success by having dinner on the final night with a NASA team member. Naturally, the talk turned to Bigger’s and Carreon’s future plans, which the NASA manager was more than happy to discuss with the students.
Led by Aerospace Engineering majors Ian Bigger (’19) and Steven Carreon (’20), who worked with Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Dr. Daniel White, “Team Zero-G” spent two days at NASA’s Houston headquarters testing shields designed to protect a passive, debris-sweeping spacecraft the team designed. “As a group we learned how a professional laboratory operates and the level of professionalism mixed with quirkiness that is required at facilities like NASA’s Johnson Space Center,” Bigger said. “[We had] so much interest and fun that the clock and time seemed to disappear.”
a
Global Business and Supply Chain Management
a
Global Conflict Studies
a
Global Security and Intelligence Studies
a a
Homeland Security
a a
Human Factors Psychology
a
Industrial / Organizational Psychology
a a
Interdisciplinary Studies
a
Leadership
a
Logistics and Supply Chain Management
a a
Mechanical Engineering
a a
Meteorology
a
Project Management
a
Safety Management
a
Simulation Science, Games and Animation
a a
Software Engineering
An Inherent Risk There are millions of pieces of space junk, everything from tiny bits of paints to satellites that stopped working years ago, all rocketing around the Earth at speeds of 18,000 mph, about seven times faster than a bullet. As more commercial space opportunities open up, solving the space debris dilemma is becoming a pressing safety issue.
a a
Space Physics
a
Spaceflight Operations
a
Technical Management
a a a
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
a Florida Campus a Arizona Campus a Worldwide/ Onl ine
Florida | Arizona | Worldwide /Online | erau.edu
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs