live- streamed on the internet. This effort, organized by the Montana Space Grant
Consortium was an amazing success and was featured as part of NASA’s eclipse
coverage, which reached 600 million people. These kinds of projects engage the
public, as well as students, exciting their imagination, and encouraging them to
learn more about NASA ballooning.
Training Next Generation Scientists & Engineers
Balloon platforms are a critical vehicle for supporting principal investigator-class
academic research owing to:
• The short time scale between conception and flight results.
• Relatively low cost.
• Recoverability.
This enables universities to engage future scientists and engineers in research that
involves developing near-spaceflight hardware. As most balloon experiments are
recovered and reflown, the acceptable risk on individual balloon payloads should
be high relative to spacecraft, and the reduction in quality assurance requirements
will shorten development time and reduce overall cost. Recently, however, there is
growing concern that safety and quality assurance requirements are increasing in
the direction toward spacecraft mission requirements. If this trend is allowed to
continue, it will likely increase development time and cost. That would diminish
access to the instrument by untrained students and early career faculty members,
and would adversely impact the training of the next generation of scientists and
engineers.
The Space Grant Program
Each NASA Center has an educational program and one of the many ways that
these fund outreach programs is through the National Space Grant College and
Fellowship Project, also known as Space Grant, which is a national network of
colleges and universities. By supporting and enhancing science and engineering
education, research and public outreach, these institutions expand opportunities
for students to understand and participate in aeronautics and space projects that
NASA conducts. The Space Grant national network includes over 850 affiliates
from universities, colleges, industry, museums, science centers, and state-level
and local agencies. The affiliates have joined forces as consortia in all 50 states,
the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and they fund
fellowships and scholarships for students pursuing careers in STEM, as well as
curriculum enhancement and faculty development. In addition, the colleges and
universities administer pre-college and public service education projects in their
232 Educating the Next Generation
Consortium was an amazing success and was featured as part of NASA’s eclipse
coverage, which reached 600 million people. These kinds of projects engage the
public, as well as students, exciting their imagination, and encouraging them to
learn more about NASA ballooning.
Training Next Generation Scientists & Engineers
Balloon platforms are a critical vehicle for supporting principal investigator-class
academic research owing to:
• The short time scale between conception and flight results.
• Relatively low cost.
• Recoverability.
This enables universities to engage future scientists and engineers in research that
involves developing near-spaceflight hardware. As most balloon experiments are
recovered and reflown, the acceptable risk on individual balloon payloads should
be high relative to spacecraft, and the reduction in quality assurance requirements
will shorten development time and reduce overall cost. Recently, however, there is
growing concern that safety and quality assurance requirements are increasing in
the direction toward spacecraft mission requirements. If this trend is allowed to
continue, it will likely increase development time and cost. That would diminish
access to the instrument by untrained students and early career faculty members,
and would adversely impact the training of the next generation of scientists and
engineers.
The Space Grant Program
Each NASA Center has an educational program and one of the many ways that
these fund outreach programs is through the National Space Grant College and
Fellowship Project, also known as Space Grant, which is a national network of
colleges and universities. By supporting and enhancing science and engineering
education, research and public outreach, these institutions expand opportunities
for students to understand and participate in aeronautics and space projects that
NASA conducts. The Space Grant national network includes over 850 affiliates
from universities, colleges, industry, museums, science centers, and state-level
and local agencies. The affiliates have joined forces as consortia in all 50 states,
the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and they fund
fellowships and scholarships for students pursuing careers in STEM, as well as
curriculum enhancement and faculty development. In addition, the colleges and
universities administer pre-college and public service education projects in their
232 Educating the Next Generation