UND President Andrew Armacost says a new satellite mission at Grand Forks Air Force Base could create research opportunities for the university’s space and unmanned systems fields.
The Space Development Agency, headquartered at the Pentagon, is working to bring a low-Earth orbit satellite mission to Grand Forks Air Force Base in the coming years. Over time, the mission might also bring in unmanned aerial systems, Sen. John Hoeven’s office said in a release last week.
But the move isn’t only a positive for GFAFB. It could also provide new opportunities for researchers at UND, Armacost said.
“It's just really exciting to think about the possibilities of having such an agency located nearby because that will likely attract businesses that are working in the space field and have a similar kinship to UND in terms of the work in space and the work in unmanned systems,” he said.
The combination of Grand Forks Air Force Base, UND and work with the city of Grand Forks leaves the region in an encouraging spot moving forward, Armacost noted.
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John Mihelich, interim vice president for research and economic development at UND, previously told the Herald that the work goes beyond the university and a few companies.
“It's that whole package that North Dakota really does have to offer,” Mihelich said in October .
Over the past couple of years several space-related administrators have visited the campus, each noting the important research role schools like UND can play for agencies in the future.
Leaders of the agencies say schools, such as UND, can be an important research bed for organizations, whether that research is specifically in space studies or in engineering and autonomous systems.
When Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear visited campus in October, he said "the biggest thing is to do the research to make sure that we can actually apply all of the elements in the UAS world across the department, even on to the satellites. That’s a big deal,” Tournear said.
The university also can help with workforce development and training individuals who will work in the field in the future, Tournear said.
A proposed $4 million appropriation for UND space-related work was left out of the bonding bill recently passed by the North Dakota Legislature , though the dollars could still be placed in another bill. The funding would invest in improvements in research and education programs related to space, Armacost said.
“We're hopeful, because we know it's a good expenditure, but we also recognize the constraints that the Legislature is operating under,” he said.
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Armacost previously told the Herald that he hopes to one day have satellites being designed and controlled from Grand Forks. It’s a “vision” that would build on UND’s space study program as well as UND’s work on autonomous systems.
