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3,250 days<\/b><\/span> <\/b>after the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on July 8, 2011, marking the end of NASA\u2019s 30-year Space Shuttle Program, a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft propelled by a Falcon 9 rocket returned astronauts to space from American soil earlier this year, beginning a new era of U.S. spaceflight. <\/span><\/p>\n Not only did the May 30 launch mark the first manned space flight from the U.S. in nearly nine years, ending America\u2019s reliance on the Russian Soyuz program for space travel, but it was also a significant milestone in NASA\u2019s new Commercial Crew Program. As the successor to the Space Shuttle Program, Commercial Crew is using private companies \u2013 currently SpaceX and Boeing \u2013 to conduct orbital spaceflights and ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.<\/span><\/p>\n The May launch of NASA\u2019s SpaceX Demo-2 mission was the first of many missions planned by SpaceX, Boeing and NASA. Commercial Crew recently continued with the November launch of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission, the program\u2019s first fully operational mission that shuttled four astronauts to the International Space Station. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are now going into operational missions that are commercial in nature, where NASA is a customer,\u201d NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said following the Crew-1 launch. \u201cOur goal has been, and will be, to be one customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit\u2026 We\u2019ve seen amazing work from SpaceX already. There\u2019s more coming from Boeing. But I think this ecosystem \u2013 this very virtuous cycle of continuous development \u2013 is going to pay benefits to the American taxpayer and space exploration.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Since the Commercial Crew Program began in earnest in 2010, engineers and scientists around the country have dedicated countless hours to advance the program. This public-private partnership has significant economic benefits, with more than 1,000 suppliers employing workers in all 50 states to support commercial crew spacecraft systems, according to NASA.<\/span><\/p>\n Given Auburn Engineering\u2019s distinguished record in our nation\u2019s space history \u2013 from the four astronaut alumni from the college to the many NASA projects Auburn Engineering faculty have worked on \u2013 it\u2019s no surprise that many Auburn Engineering alumni played key roles in making the Commercial Crew Program a reality. We profile three of those alumni in this story.<\/span><\/p>\n STEVEN SULLIVAN<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Chief engineer of NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Steven Sullivan, \u201986 electrical engineering, serves as a member of the technical authority guiding NASA\u2019s direction in developing U.S. crew transportation services to the International Space Station and other low-Earth orbit destinations. Prior to being named the chief engineer for the Commercial Crew Program, he was the Processing Chief Engineer, overseeing the final five years of the Space Shuttle Program.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt the beginning of the Commercial Crew Program, I worked with the NASA design centers, specifically the Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, Langley Research Center and NASA Headquarters, to devise the design\/build requirements to be fulfilled by NASA\u2019s commercial partners,\u201d said Sullivan, a 35-year NASA veteran who works from the Kennedy Space Center. \u201cThese requirements addressed the spacecraft (capsule), launch vehicle (rocket), and launch complex and systems that handled the spacesuits and environmental controls, life support, safety aborts, ISS docking, vehicle recovery and ground controls, just to name a few.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Once NASA named the final two Commercial Crew Program partners \u00ad\u2014 SpaceX and Boeing \u2014 Sullivan\u2019s role transitioned from writing requirements to verifying their implementation.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have spent the last six years working intimately with NASA, SpaceX and Boeing engineers verifying that each partner\u2019s vehicles, systems and subsystems satisfy NASA\u2019s flight safety requirements,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Sullivan, who began his tenure at NASA as a co-op student while attending Auburn, said the Commercial Crew Program has offered unique engineering challenges due to SpaceX and Boeing choosing non-traditional design solutions and using systems that have not been used in recent programs, such as parachutes for a splashdown landing. NASA assembled cross-disciplinary teams to evaluate these systems. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThese collaborative engineering teams worked together to understand the physics, margins and performances within the environment that were previously unknown, especially in the propulsion, pyrotechnic and parachute systems,\u201d he said. \u201cThe NASA team performed an extraordinary amount of independent assessment work and modeling, leveraging the experience and expertise from multiple NASA centers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sullivan said he is honored to work with talented engineers and scientists at NASA, as well as those at SpaceX and Boeing, to demonstrate that the Commercial Crew Program is the right model to lead America\u2019s space program forward. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. space industry, partially funded by the U.S. government and supported by NASA, is strong and growing rapidly due to the fast-paced efforts, extraordinary achievements and ingenuity of private companies,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n CATHERINE SANDERS<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Launch vehicle propulsion systems manager Catherine Sanders, \u201990 mechanical engineering, leads engineering insight for human-spaceflight certification of the Atlas V and Falcon 9 propulsion systems, specifically the liquid engines and stage propulsion, thrust vector control and solid propulsion systems. She has served in this role since 2016. For the recent SpaceX launches, Sanders and her team, who work from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, assessed risk for the Falcon 9 propulsion systems. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor all elevated propulsion-related risks, our team worked with SpaceX to develop mitigations and determine flight rationale to ensure safety of our astronauts with the ultimate goal to certify SpaceX\u2019s human spaceflight system for operational crew missions to and from the International Space Station,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n As the team approached the Demo-2 launch day in May, they felt good about the propulsion system health in prelaunch. Although, that did little to ease the nerves. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think everyone held their breath at launch all the way through two stages of flight to spacecraft separation,\u201d said Sanders, who has worked in the space industry for 30 years \u2013 10 years with Boeing and 20 years with NASA. \u201cI cannot even communicate the elation and satisfaction of our accomplishments leading up to that day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n One of the main engineering challenges in this role is to certify systems already built and in operation against program-specific requirements not in place during the original development of the launch vehicle. <\/span><\/p>\n Ultimately, the commercial partners have responsibility for design, development, testing and evaluation, while NASA is responsible for ensuring compliance to requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEveryone on our team is very experienced technically, and it is hard to not direct some of the decisions needing to be made by the partner,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cHowever, we all have the same goals and the safety of our crew is paramount.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2020\/12\/Steven-Sullivan-headshot.jpg\")
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