Students in Laurel direct high-tech satellite program

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Christopher Anderson⁄The Gazette Si Tran, a senior computer-engineering student at Capitol College in Laurel, talks to NASA scientists at Goddard Space Flight Center on Monday as she collects data about ozone from the Total Ozone Measurement Satellite, known as TOMS. A model of the satellite that the college students control is shown at right.

Between key strokes and radio calls to a NASA ground station on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, the computer science major from Silver Spring recalls her awe when she started at the school’s Space Operations Institute four years ago.

‘‘At first it was scary,” Tran said. ‘‘You’re afraid of sending the wrong command and if you send a wrong command how you’re going to recover.”

The 22-year-old, one of just three Capitol College students trained to run the satellite, known as TOMS, now operates the control system as deftly as many students her age add songs to their iPod.

It’s hoped that the four-year-old space institute creates a pipeline of students like Tran to help meet the growing demand for young space engineers. Nearly half of NASA engineers are eligible to retire this year, disclosed Dave Wagner, the institute’s director.

Freshman Melody Ford from the District, one of five newcomers to Capitol’s 20-student institute, said she is ready to answer the call.

‘‘You get your name put out there [at NASA] and a career could come out of this,” she said of the TOMS program, which supports ozone layer studies.

The TOMS Satellite (TOMS is an acronym for Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) is the centerpiece of Capitol’s program. After students helped nearby Goddard Space Center complete security upgrades to its satellite ground control system, the space center, impressed with their work, authorized construction of a second system on the college’s campus just outside Laurel.

‘‘It’s provided them an excellent opportunity to take the academic stuff they’ve learned in school and apply it in an operations involvement,” said Wagner, also noting the cost savings to NASA – estimated to be around $2 million annually. Capitol’s ground control system, opened in March, and the TOMS earth probe satellite, became Goddard’s primary source for ozone layer data after a newer satellite experienced technical problems. The TOMS satellite is in what’s known as a polar orbit, passing over each of the earth’s two poles to circle the earth every 99 minutes.

This means a relatively small window – about 15 minutes – is available during each pass to capture reliable scientific data. The study is focusing on holes in the ozone layer, an upper portion of the atmosphere that absorbs solar radiation to help keep the earth’s surface cool, above the south poll.

If data is compromised by a weak signal, as occurred during a pass earlier this week, ‘‘You have to act right away,” said Tran, keeping a watchful eye on two flat-screen monitors displaying the satellite’s scientific measurements and health data.

The goal is to provide as accurate data as possible to Goddard’s Science and Operations Center, which processes the information and sends it to universities and research groups around the globe.

Trumping all, however, is the satellite’s health, Tran said. Icons representing indicators such as temperature, battery power and stability turn yellow or green to indicate a potential problem. A NASA contract with the school has paid Capitol about $14 million for space institute costs, Wagner said. The government grant funding the work expires Sept. 30, but Wagner said the school is in discussions to have it extended by two or three years.

‘‘This is a great experience,” Tran said. ‘‘I’ve been working here for four years and have enjoyed every minute of it.”

E-mail Steve Earley at searley@gazette.net.