{"id":189781,"date":"2024-01-07T09:30:29","date_gmt":"2024-01-07T19:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=189781"},"modified":"2024-01-09T15:27:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T01:27:48","slug":"uh-launching-space-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/01\/07\/uh-launching-space-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr>UH<\/abbr> launching space tech development center, student-training hub"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_76937\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2BNASPS_byg?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Â鶹´«Ã½launching space tech development center, student-training hub\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>The University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is in the initial stages of establishing a space engineering and instrument development center at the <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> Institute for Astronomy\u2019s facilities on the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo campus, thanks to general fund support from the <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Legislature and <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Gov. Josh Green. The Space Sciences Initiative is expected to attract millions of dollars in funding, expand <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>&#8216;s technology sector and create more high-paying jobs on <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island and across the state.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_189784\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-189784\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-third-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Machine \" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-189784\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-third-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-third-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-third-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-189784\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> students will be able to engage in instrumentation development for space-based missions and ground-based telescopes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To launch the program, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> received $2 million in state funds to start the initial design of the facility currently estimated to cost about $30 to $40 million to construct. <abbr>UH<\/abbr> students will receive valuable hands-on training at the center producing instruments for space-based missions and ground-based telescopes.<\/p>\n<p>Ground observatories, including those based in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, spend tens of millions of dollars on a recurring basis to upgrade equipment and build instrumentation. That engineering effort typically occurs outside of the state and the planned facility will be designed to bring a larger fraction of that activity to <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. The additive manufacturing and precision machining capabilities of the center and its personnel will also be able to support the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and other Department of Defense entities as well as aerospace and private sector partners.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_189787\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-189787\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-fourth-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Institute for Astronomy \" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-189787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-fourth-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-fourth-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-fourth-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-189787\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Institute for Astronomy headquarters at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M&#257;noa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;The components of a successful center of this type already exist at <abbr>UH<\/abbr>, and this new initiative is helping to cohesively and effectively bring them together,&rdquo; said <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Vice President of Research and Innovation Vassilis <abbr>L<\/abbr>. Syrmos. &ldquo;We are on the verge of investing in place-based research and training of our students and faculty on <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island, where space engineering and advanced manufacturing are at the forefront of a high-tech industry that can support a locally based, well-educated and highly paid workforce.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The center is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifa.hawaii.edu\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> Institute for Astronomy<\/a> (<abbr>IfA<\/abbr>), <a href=\"https:\/\/astro.uhh.hawaii.edu\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eng.hawaii.edu\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> M&#257;noa College of Engineering<\/a> (<abbr>COE<\/abbr>), which is among the 15&#37; of engineering schools in the country that have dedicated aerospace or related programs. <abbr title=\"Institute for Astronomy\">IfA<\/abbr> astronomers and engineers are already developing some of the most advanced astronomical instruments in the world including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/20\/uh-designed-sensors-aboard-historic-space-telescope\/\">Near-infrared sensors<\/a> on the James Webb Space Telescope,<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/08\/08\/nsf-ifa-telescope-mirror\/\">Adaptive secondary mirrors<\/a> with broad applications in telescopes<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/19\/hawaii-astronomer-grant-telescope\/\">Software for the <abbr title=\"National Aeronautics and Space Administration\">NASA<\/abbr> Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope<\/a> to process thousands of observations of supernovae or exploding stars.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/09\/28\/upgrade-maunakea-telescope-detect-exoplanets\/\">A new instrument that provides adaptive optics correction<\/a> using objects invisible to the naked eye<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_189788\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-189788\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-first-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Institute for Astronomy instrument\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-189788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-first-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-first-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-first-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-189788\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Institute for Astronomy  has built astronomical instrumentation since the late 1960s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;This is a natural fit as <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is home to the best astronomy sites in the world and one of the world\u2019s best research universities,&rdquo; said <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M&#257;noa College of Engineering Dean Brennon Morioka, one of the champions of the program. &ldquo;<abbr>UH<\/abbr> is now among just a handful of universities developing an on-campus, astronomical manufacturing center and it will have a far-reaching impact on our students, our state and beyond.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Center construction is tentatively scheduled to be completed by 2030 subject to securing funding for the construction phase, but the associated academic programming will begin in the 2024 fall semester. <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo will begin an initial offering of pre-engineering courses while the new high-tech manufacturing center is developed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The launch of the Space Sciences Initiative will provide valuable opportunities for <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo and our students thanks to this collaboration with <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M&#257;noa and the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> system,&rdquo; said <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin. &ldquo;It expands our academic offerings that will in turn create more career opportunities for our students, especially those from <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Ten new full-time faculty are now being recruited to teach the prerequisite engineering courses at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo and serve as the core engineering team for the new center. Five of the new faculty will be located at <abbr>IfA<\/abbr>\u2019s Hilo facility  and the rest at the College of Engineering at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M&#257;noa. <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo students can transfer those credits to <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M&#257;noa where they can go on and complete their engineering degrees. There are approximately 500 jobs at observatories on Maunakea and Haleakal&#257; that are held by engineers and technicians who specialize in optics, software, data science, materials, mechanics, systems, and cryogenics.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_189785\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-189785\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-second-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Machinist \" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-189785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-second-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-second-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-second-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-189785\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Machinist at Institute for Astronomy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;<abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo students are predominantly from <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island and now they will have an academic pathway into engineering and ultimately careers that support <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> observatories,&rdquo; said <abbr>UH<\/abbr> <abbr>IfA<\/abbr> Director Doug Simons, another champion of the program. &ldquo;Right now, these well-paying jobs too often go to non-residents, who are more likely to leave after a few years. We want these jobs to go to local kids. That will not only be good for them and their families, it will increase stability in the astronomy sector and broadly benefit our community.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/uhero.hawaii.edu\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> Economic Research Organization<\/a> report on astronomy in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> found the industry in 2019 supported the employment of 1,313 residents and had a total economic impact (output of goods and services) of $221 million.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_189786\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-189786\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-main-1.jpg\" alt=\"Telescope\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-189786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-main-1.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-main-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/manoa-hilo-ifa-main-1-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-189786\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The tech development center will produce instruments for telescopes such as the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System on Haleakal&#257;.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The initiative is expected to attract millions of dollars in funding, expand <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>&#8216;s technology sector and create more high-paying jobs. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,12],"tags":[34,179,35,1467,174,14,9,56],"class_list":["post-189781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","category-video","tag-astronomy","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-institute-for-astronomy","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-space","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189781"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":189908,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189781\/revisions\/189908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}