Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | July 22, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 11 Central Mass. deserves more space recognition Robert Goddard, a Worcester-born physicist, is considered the father of modern rocket propulsion by NASA after being educated at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Clark University in Worcester. He launched the first rocket in 1926 in Auburn and paved the way for modern space travel. When polled online, more than 8 out of 10 WBJ readers said Central Massachusetts' contributions to space travel should receive more recognition. F L AS H P O L L 13% No. We wouldn't have achieved space travel without Goddard, and his work deserves more notoriety. 51% No. Central Mass. businesses continue to make significant contributions to space travel, but toil in relative obscurity. 33% Yes. Having a NASA space center named after Robert Goddard is recognition enough. funding, improves gaps in communi- cations caused by space's harsh weather conditions or other impairments in part through artificial intelligence. Wyglinski and other researchers are working now on peer-reviewed articles to help give the rest of the space indus- try insights from their work. "It's foundational work for anyone who wishes to continue and find new ways to communicate in space," he said. "We're demanding more and more from these missions than ever before." Another WPI professor, Jamal Yagoobi, the head of the mechanical en- gineering department, has lead research into ways of better keeping spacecra cool during long missions when they are bombarded with solar radiation. e system uses electrically charged fluids to absorb and carry heat away from electronics and other equipment that gener- ates heat. Yagoobi's exper- iment has used the International Space Station, and its results could be especially important for a po- tential trip to Mars – or back on Earth, in cooling, heating and ventilations systems. Unlike mechanical cooling systems used today, Yagoobi's system requires minimal electric power and no noise or vibrations. A first experiment at the Internation- al Space Station over roughly a year and a half ended in August, with a second phase expected in 2021 and 2022 to test a more advanced version of the cooling system. Yagoobi has received NASA funding for each of the past 26 years to support his cooling-system research. The new space startups In June, NASA awarded three Central Massachusetts companies part of $45 million to develop systems to help the agency put humans back on the Moon in five years and on Mars by 2030. Charlton-based Incom is developing components for ad- vanced imaging systems to enable researchers to get a clearer image of particles in deep space, and Worcester startup MultiScale Systems seeks to make vehicles safer using geometric patterns. e third – Natick propulsion company Busek Co. Inc. – uses technology once ad- vanced by Goddard to build and design thrust- ers for the aerospace industry. "He's really a founding father for the technology," said Peter Hruby, business and strategy director at Busek. Busek relies on electric-based propul- sion, an idea studied by Goddard even while he was studying chemical liquid fueled-based propulsion; Goddard has the first ever patent for an electrostatic thruster. Electric propulsion systems can sustain flight for longer periods of time, so they are typically used for deep-space missions while chemical propulsion systems are typically more powerful and can thrust large spacecra out of Earth's atmosphere. Busek's work focuses around electric ion thrusters. Goddard's research from more than 100 years ago has helped WPI forge a working relationship with Busek and NASA. "For smaller spacecra, [the ion thruster is] definitely one of the industry's favorite forms of engines," said Nikos Gatsonis, director of WPI's aerospace engineering program. Busek is one of the main private part- nerships in the aerospace engineering program, Gatsonis said, with students working for the company during and aer their education. Some of the school's most notable work in electric propulsion came in 2007, when Busek, with the help of WPI students, developed a micro-pulsed plasma thruster, which powered a U.S. Air Force satellite. Busek has more than a dozen prod- ucts somewhere in space at the moment. Some power satellites in lower-Earth orbit while others are on the far side of the Moon, Hruby said. "at equipment will be there until the pyramids turn to sand," he said. Busek now is working on thrusters to power a small toaster oven-sized spacecra flying to the Moon in 2020 in search of water deposits on its north and south poles. "A lot of the motivation is in building a product to meet NASA's demanding needs," Hruby said. "Some thrusters have out-of-the-world performance and precision, while others are real work- horses that are opening up and enabling new missions in both lower-Earth and outer-Earth orbit and beyond." WBJ Staff Writer Zachary Comeau contributed to this story. Does Central Mass. receive an appropri- ate amount of credit for its contribution to space travel? 3% Yes. While Goddard's contributions are important, it isn't on the same level as Neil Armstrong or John F. Kennedy. "Perhaps Worcester area can do more to blow its own horn regionally in New England. How about Goddard Regional Air- port? Science or innova- tion initiatives could bear his name as well? Just my two cents." Comments "Does Central Massachusetts receive appropriate credit for our contributions to anything?!" "You do know there is a library dedicated to his work within Clark University." Jamal Yagoobi (left), head of WPI's mechanical engineering department, tests cooling systems in a space simulated environment. Astronaut Alan Bean joins Pete Conrad on the surface of the Moon during their Apollo 12 mission. W PHOTO/NASA

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