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Four teams of university and industry partners are selected to program that supports NASA’s aeronautical goals and involves students in aeronautic research and testing.
The University of Nevada, Reno is part of one of four teams selected for NASA’s University Leadership Initiative (ULI), a program developed to support NASA’s aeronautical research goals. The team brings together university and industry expertise and includes Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) as an industry partner. Researchers with the University’s College of Engineering and SNC will collaborate on the project with the team’s lead institution, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and additional team members that include Georgia Tech, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, North Carolina A&T State University, and Lockheed Martin.
The team’s proposal – designed to support NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility campaign – was bolstered by the FAA selection of the State of Nevada as one of seven states designated as a center for the development of unmanned aerial vehicles and outdoor testing of unmanned autonomous systems.
“It is a point of pride for the University of Nevada, Reno to be part of the University Leadership Initiative and work toward NASA’s goals to encourage innovation and industry collaboration while also developing quality and relevant experiences for our students,” said Brian Sandoval, president of the University of Nevada, Reno.
The Nevada-based efforts are led by principal investigators Petros Voulgaris, chair of the University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Victor LaMar Lockhart Professor, and Christos Papachristos, assistant professor in the University’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The project further involves Resolute ISR, a Carson City-based manufacturer of the Resolute Eagle, an UAS platform. A key ULI goal is to help students gain experience in robotics and aeronautics research and, as a result of the NASA program designation, Resolute ISR will select four initial University engineering students as interns, with plans to add another four by year’s end. The interns will be trained as UAS or drone pilots, thus helping their resumes to stand out.
“The College of Engineering is committed to the development of an aerospace engineering program and is advancing its accomplished robotics program,” Manos Maragakis, College of Engineering dean, said. “Our selection to ULI will provide our faculty and students with new nationally collaborative opportunities for research and broader education, and I am grateful to our team for this major accomplishment.”
The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) helped facilitate development of the project proposal and the involvement of Resolute ISR. Noting the support of GOED and companies such as Resolute ISR and SNC, Voulgaris said, “The project itself will be a great showcase to inspire students to work in this area of autonomous flying vehicles and robotics and be involved in advanced testing.”
Voulgaris, who also serves as founding aerospace engineering program director, was instrumental in the development of the College of Engineering’s new minor degree in aerospace engineering launched in 2021.
The expertise of engineering faculty in advanced autonomous systems and robotics was showcased through the 2021 win by a University of Nevada, Reno team – which included Papachristos and SNC – of the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, a prestigious, three-year advanced robotics competition by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency which develops emerging technologies for the U.S. Department of Defense. Launched with the support of Nevada’s Knowledge Fund through GOED, the University of Nevada, Reno team developed a system of walking and flying robots equipped with multi-modal systems that enabled robust and reliable exploration in complex and rough underground settings.
SNC will bring further expertise to the University Leadership Initiative project, particularly by providing the team access to an applicable real-world scenario and simulation model for manned and unmanned airborne systems. This simulation environment will leverage SNC’s fielded enhanced vision system for assisting helicopter pilots to develop high-fidelity sensor input, model dynamics, and environments. This simulation capability will allow the team’s algorithms to be developed and tested in real-world scenarios and provide a pathway to putting the final capabilities to use on real systems beyond the laboratory.
Becomes the sole owner of the company, which specializes in trading and processing secondary raw materials.
Ceratizit S.A. will take over the remaining 50% of shares in Stadler Metalle GmbH & Co. KG, becoming the sole owner of the company, which specializes in trading and processing secondary raw materials. For Ceratizit, which belongs to the Austrian Plansee Group, Stadler Metalle is already the most important supplier of secondary raw materials to produce tungsten and tungsten carbide powders.
For the Ceratizit Group, the investment in Stadler at the beginning of 2019 was an important step, as Executive Board Spokesman Andreas Lackner explains: “Stadler Metalle has become an important building block in our raw material supply chain over the past three years and has helped us to become independent of raw materials from China and crisis regions.” The Group is now drawing its supply of primary raw materials exclusively from certified western mines.
The use of secondary raw materials from recycling not only helps to secure the supply chain, it’s also sustainable: 83% of raw materials come from recycling.
“The recycling of used cemented carbide requires 75% less energy than the processing of ore. In addition, the detrimental effects on nature of intensive mining are avoided,” Lackner adds.
The current Managing Director and founder of Stadler Metalle, Gabriele Stadler, will retire together with her husband, Hubert Stadler.
“We would like to express our sincere thanks to Mrs. Stadler and Mr. Stadler. They have led and developed the company very successfully over the years and helped to facilitate a smooth integration into the Ceratizit Group,” says Executive Board Member Melissa Albeck.
Thomas Wenger will take over the management of Stadler. He has already been working in purchasing and sales at Stadler Metalle since 2010 and had previously worked for 10 years in strategic purchasing at two other companies in the tungsten industry.
Both sides have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.
Wallops Island complex will house manufacturing, operations, and launch facilities, create 250 new jobs.
Rocket Lab USA Inc., a provider of launch services and space systems, has selected Wallops Island, Virginia, in Accomack County as the location for its launch site and extensive manufacturing and operations facilities for its Neutron rocket, which is expected to create up to 250 new jobs.
Rocket Lab will launch the Neutron from a new Virginia Space-owned launch pad that will be located within the NASA Wallops Flight Facility and Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The 250,000ft2 state-of-the-art complex will be constructed on a 28-acre site adjacent to the Wallops Island Flight Facility, which was purchased by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority in 2021. Up to 250 engineers, technicians, and support staff may be stationed at the complex.
The new manufacturing complex for the Neutron will be located within proximity of Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 2, the company’s first launch site in the United States. It was built specifically for the Electron rocket, the second-most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually since 2019.
“Virginia’s industrial and innovation ecosystem and skilled workforce make the Commonwealth an optimal location for industry leaders like Rocket Lab,” said Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. “This important project reinforces the Eastern Shore’s legacy as an aerospace hub that offers the infrastructure for manufacturing and developing new technologies, and we look forward to a long partnership with Rocket Lab.”
Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick added, “The Commonwealth has a strong aerospace and unmanned systems industry workforce, which is forecast to grow 8.5% over the next decade, and is well-positioned to provide the skilled talent that Rocket Lab will require for its Neutron launch site, manufacturing, and operations.”
“Neutron is a new generation of rocket that will advance the way space is accessed, and Virginia makes perfect sense as Neutron’s home base,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “Its position on the eastern seaboard is the ideal location to support both Neutron’s frequent launch cadence and the rocket’s return-to-Earth capability of landing back at its launch site after lift-off; and as one of only four states in the United States with an FAA spaceport license for missions to Earth orbit or on interplanetary trajectories, Virginia is home to an active and experienced aerospace workforce we can pull from to support Neutron’s development and launch.”
Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab delivers launch services, spacecraft components, satellites, other spacecraft, and on-orbit management solutions. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle and the Photon satellite platform and is developing the Neutron 8-ton payload class launch vehicle. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 109 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been selected to support NASA missions to the moon and Mars as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus.
Subject to approval by the General Assembly, the Commonwealth will support the project through a $30 million appropriation to Virginia Space for the infrastructure and operational systems. These improvements to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport will enhance the capabilities of the Spaceport to support existing programs and provide access for new customers like Rocket Lab. In addition, the MEI Project Approval Commission approved an investment of up to $15 million to support site improvements and construction of a building to be owned by Virginia Space and leased to Rocket Lab.
Support for Rocket Lab’s job creation will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a workforce initiative created by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System and other higher education partners, with funding support from the Governor’s administration and the Virginia General Assembly. Launched in 2019, the program accelerates new facility start-ups through the direct delivery of recruitment and training services that are fully customized to a company’s unique products, processes, equipment, standards, and culture. All program services are provided at no cost to qualified, new, and expanding companies as an incentive for job creation.
Rocket Lab is currently working with NASA to secure all necessary agreements and certifications for launches from Wallops Island.
Coordinate measuring machines’ (CMMs’) integration with mobile and robot-mounted systems for rapid measurement expedites market growth, says Frost & Sullivan.
Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis finds that integration with mobile and robot-mounted systems for rapid measurement is expediting growth in the global stationary coordinate measuring machine (CMM) market. The global stationary CMM market revenue is estimated to reach approximately $1.68 million by 2025, up from $1.33 million in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8%. Aerospace, automotive, and machine shops are the key industry verticals expected to accelerate demand for stationary CMMs throughout the forecast period.
"The increasing need to maximize productivity on the shop floor is driving demand for more automation and robotics. With customers demanding inline measurement solutions to increase throughput, several vendors have introduced shop floor CMMs," said Ram Ravi, Measurement & Instrumentation Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "Additionally, CMMs equipped with scanners or multi-sensor systems are gaining prominence with the growing adoption of Industry 4.0 across manufacturing."
Ravi added, "From a product perspective, bridge and gantry CMMs will dominate the total stationary CMMs space. The popularity of bridge CMM is attributed to its affordability and ability to offer precise measurements. In contrast, sectors which require high precision such as aerospace and automotive will propel the demand for gantry CMM."
To take advantage of the growing stationary CMM industry, market participants should:
Global Stationary CMM Growth Opportunities is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan's Measurement & Instrumentation research and analyses available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.