“Wow,” Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks said after peering inside what looks like a giant iron lung.
The thermal vacuum chamber can simulate extreme temperatures, from minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit to 120 degrees, and a hard vacuum with atmospheric pressure about 10 billion times less than atmospheric pressure, mimicking space conditions.
The chamber is used for testing spacecraft components under extreme conditions, with cycles of heating and cooling to simulate real-world conditions.
Miller-Meeks was led to another room where she stood in front of what UI researcher Jasper Halekas, a professor in the physics and astronomy department, playfully called “the world’s largest subwoofer.”
The vibration table is used for testing spacecraft components under a simulated controlled environment to reproduce events such as a rocket launch.
STEM funding
Miller-Meeks visited the University of Iowa on Friday to highlight $1.5 million in federal dollars she helped secure for STEM development and space research within the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
The funding will be used for the purchase of advanced manufacturing equipment, new semiconductor fabrication tooling and satellite communications hardware to enable technology development and research in support of NASA’s exploration missions.
“I just think it’s a great opportunity for the University of Iowa, for Iowa City and for our state,” Miller-Meeks told reporters after touring the top floor at Van Allen Hall, which is being renovated into a single, unified space flight laboratory for instrument design and build spaces.
Additionally, the University of Iowa will augment an existing educational program giving undergraduates in STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and math – hands-on experience with flight hardware.
Miller-Meeks said the investment will enable the UI to produce graduates with the engineering, mathematics, programming and data analysis skills needed to support Iowa’s continued growth in technical sectors like advanced manufacturing and aerospace/defense.
“It’s an ability for us to attract talent to the University of Iowa,” she said. “I think being able to give that opportunity to people to see space not just way out there, but here, I think, is really important to attracting scientists here.”
Miller-Meeks, who is running for re-election to a third term representing southeast Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, secured the earmarked funding through the annual process in which members of Congress apply for funding for community projects back in their district.
Each House member can submit up to 15 eligible projects to receive federal funding for fiscal year 2025.
NASA mission
Miller-Meeks spoke with engineers and researches working on NASA’s TRACERS mission. The mission, which is being led by the university, will launch a pair of small satellites to study interactions between the sun and Earth’s magnetosphere.
UI researchers and other participating institutions have been designing, building and assembling the instruments, hardware and software in preparation for a scheduled launch in April 2025.
Antonio Washington, a UI aerospace project engineer, is among those working on the mission.
Washington is part of the team creating and testing miniature sensors crucial to studying how Earth’s magnetic field interacts with external forces in low Earth orbit. The instruments will determine how powerful winds from the sun are able to cleave through the Earth’s magnetic field and potentially affect satellites, telecommunications and energy grids.
He called the federal funding essential for expanding the research beyond specific mission deadlines, enhancing innovation and efficiency.
Van Allen legacy
Casey DeRoo, associate professor in the physics/astronomy department, said the federal investment recognizes Iowa as a national leader in space instrumentation since before NASA was founded.
That legacy originated with James Van Allen, the Iowa physicist and space pioneer whose successful launch of the first American satellite into space in 1958 is generally recognized as the beginning of U.S. space exploration.
“You see students who come (into the classroom) who think of space essentially as this abstract concept,” DeRoo said. “And you’re able to essentially, through the unique position of University of Iowa and our state, show them this science was born here.
“Space physics was born at the University of Iowa through the legacy of James Van Allen. And you can let them hold and touch that history, which is really a special thing to be able to do.”
Applications
DeRoo said the new federal funding will lead to new equipment that can fulfill a host of needs for future space missions — furthering NASA’s mission and supporting STEM education and the training of future scientists.
Both he and Miller-Meeks highlighted the potential of broader applications of the Iowa-made equipment beyond specific research areas, and the opportunity to partner with commercial aerospace and advanced manufacturing companies in the state, such as Collins Aerospace, SpaceX and Blue Origin.
“Advanced manufacturing is a major component of the state economy, and the kind of area that we’d like to grow,” DeRoo said. “Those businesses are going to need STEM-educated individuals coming out of places like, you know, the University of Iowa to be able to essentially expand and grow their workforce and do the work that they need to do.”
© 2024 Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
