Making future technology a reality today Published Oct. 31, 2014 By Col. Troy Brashear Space Development and Test Directorate Director KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Early one morning, a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy studying astronautical engineering adjusts the solar panels on a satellite her team is building -- she hopes the satellite is approved to be launched into space one day soon. On the other side of town, at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colo., a staff sergeant plans the week's mission for a communications satellite -- if he could automate this task, he could spend more time improving the communications system for troops in the field. Meanwhile, 380 miles south on I-25 at Kirtland, a young lieutenant arrives at work to test a new weather sensor flying overhead on a bread-box sized nanosatellite. He wonders if this new sensor will be mass-produced and used to provide better weather forecasts for deployed troops. They all know the nation can no longer afford large, expensive and complex satellites; fortunately though, the number of government, commercial and educational organizations with desires to reduce costs, test new technologies and deliver systems to space faster are on the rise. Later that same day, a team at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., and NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston brainstorm, via a video teleconference, on novel ideas to deploy satellites from the International Space Station. Here in Albuquerque, discussions center on requirements for an inexpensive nanosatellite design ideal for the next generation of operational and experimental sensors. Another team down the hall continues its preparations to launch a spacecraft on a smaller rocket. This rocket re-uses excess intercontinental ballistic missile motors refurbished by a team at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to make the mission less expensive than if they used new motors. Back in Los Angeles, another team moves forward to execute its new contract to match commercial satellite "hosts" with government payloads, enabling the payloads to piggyback into orbit at a fraction of the normal cost to build dedicated satellites. Other engineers in Los Angeles work with counterparts across the country on a common satellite design to bring costs down enough to earn development funding. Satellite operators around the world are testing radio frequencies to increase the number of antennas available and improve future communications. Those same operators tinker with coding a set of software files that will automate repetitive tasks and reduce manpower and costs for operations. This is the future of space: smaller sensors and satellites, standard interfaces, new technologies, partnerships, cost sharing and automated operations all tied together to support national security, science and technology. Luckily, that future is actually here today at the Space Development and Test Directorate. We have nanosatellites in orbit; we work across the government and industry to standardize interfaces; we sponsor new technologies for satellites and rockets; we automate ground systems with no-human-in-the-loop operations; and, as of last month, we have a contract to work with industry and put government payloads onto commercial satellites and get those payloads into space for pennies on the dollar. Our team, spread across Colorado, New Mexico, California, Texas and Utah, is focused on reducing costs of space while improving operational performance. We are also focused on launching our cadet's satellite, automating our sergeant's operations and getting our lieutenant's sensor data to the warfighter. We envision the future and drive it to reality.