The Space Systems Laboratory (SSL) is in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

in Cambridge, MA. Its mission is to develop the technology and systems analysis associated with small spacecraft, precision optical systems, and

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

technology research and development.

History

A previous Space Systems Laboratory (Maryland) was founded at MIT in 1976, by faculty members Renee Miller and J.W. Mar. In 1990, lab director Dr. Dave Akin moved the lab to the University of Maryland. The current Space Systems Laboratory was founded in 1995 at MIT. It begun as a part of the Space Engineering Research Center (SERC). The laboratory has a practice of Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO), working to provide students hands-on learning as a part of their coursework. One of the laboratory's flagship research testbeds, SPHERES, began in 1999 as an undergraduate senior design project.

People

The current directors of the SSL are Rebecca Masterson and Prof. Richard Linares. The principal research scientist is Alvar Saenz-Otero. Former director Prof. Dave Miller is now faculty for the laboratory. Long time staff include Marilyn Good and Paul Bauer. Faculty members include: *Dr. Daniel Hastings *Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, former NASA Astronaut *Dr. Olivier de Weck *Dr.

Kerri Cahoy Professor Kerri L. Cahoy is an electrical and aerospace engineer and a professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. She is also the co-founder of laser communications firSpaceRake Cahoy is the leader of thSpace Telecommunications, Astronomy ...

*Dr. Sara Seager, a MacArthur Fellow *Dr. Richard Binzel

Projects

OSIRIS-REx OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission. The mission's primary goal is to obtain a sample of at least from 101955 Bennu, a carbo ...

's REXIS *ROAM: Relative Operations for Autonomous Maneuvers *ReCon *iSAT *Advanced Telescope Concepts

ISS Research

* SPHERES **

Zero Robotics Zero Robotics is an international high school programming competition where students control robotic SPHERES (Synchronised Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites) aboard the International Space Station. Each year teams of stud ...

, a competition for middle and high school students on the

**VERTIGO (Visual Estimation and Relative Tracking for Inspection of Generic Objects) **RINGS (Resonant Inductive Near-field Generation System) *MACE II

CubeSats

*MicroMAS (Micro-sized Microwave Atmospheric Satellite) *MicroMAS-2 *ExoplanetSat *inflated antenna

Space Shuttle Research

*Middeck 0-Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE),

STS-48 STS-48 was a Space Shuttle mission that launched on September 12, 1991, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The orbiter was . The primary payload was the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). The mission landed on September 18 at 12:38 a. ...

*Middeck Active Control Experiment (MACE), STS-67 *Dynamic Load Sensor (DLS), STS-62

Partners

MIT Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and d ...

*Aerospace *

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

*NASA's

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA ...

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Ad ...

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

** Space Systems Laboratory (Maryland) *

Aurora Flight Sciences Aurora Flight Sciences is an American aviation and aeronautics research subsidiary of Boeing which primarily specializes in the design and construction of special-purpose Unmanned aerial vehicles. Aurora has been established for 20+ years and th ...

* Draper Laboratory

Associated NASA Programs

*Small Satellite Technology Initiative (SSTI) * New Millennium Program *International Space Station Technology Testbed Program

Alumni

While the students go off to a wide variety of careers, many SSL graduates have gone to NASA's

. In particular, several have been on the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) teams of Mars missions. Allen Chen and Dr.

Swati Mohan Swati Mohan is an Indian-American aerospace engineer and was the Guidance and Controls Operations Lead on the NASA Mars 2020 mission. Early life and education Mohan was born in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, and emigrated to the United States ...

announced the touchdown of the Mars Science Laboratory and

Mars 2020 Mars 2020 is a Mars rover mission forming part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program that includes the rover '' Perseverance'', the small robotic, coaxial helicopter '' Ingenuity'', and associated delivery vehicles. Mars 2020 was launched from ...

rovers, respectively. The laboratory also has strong ties to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

, with several students coming from the USAF Academy. Dr. Miller worked with the Academy to create fully funded graduate scholarships to MIT for graduates of its

FalconSAT FalconSAT is the United States Air Force Academy's (USAFA) small satellite engineering program. Satellites are designed, built, tested, and operated by Academy cadets. The project is administered by the USAFA Space Systems Research Center und ...

program.

In the news

A 2014 paper from PhD candidate Sydney Do and several additional SSL graduate students received world-wide attention for its assessment that astronauts wouldn't be able to survive in the Mars One project's design more than a few couple of the months. The analysis was performed based on publicly available information of the design.

References

{{reflist Space research Massachusetts Institute of Technology