The lack of on demand access to space has proven to be a considerable bottleneck for materials and component manufacturers. Before now, in order to do any “in space testing” you have to wait several months (if not longer) to secure a launch vehicle, obtain data and analyze results. Even in cases where access to space is possible, there are limited measurement and visual capabilities while the mission is ongoing. EMA is in the process of building its Space Environment and Radiation Effects (SERE) facility at its Pittsfield, MA location. EMA’s facility will be capable of reproducing almost any orbit or exotic space plasma environment imaginable in an effort to remove the huge hurdle of space access from materials and component development. EMA’s facility will allow for new and novel concepts to be quickly and accurately evaluated in the space environment on much shorter time scales. For the FHE community this will provide a first of its kind mechanism to for performance demonstration and materials characterizations in space which will greatly increase the breadth of FHE use in space platforms and the understanding of material and component behavior in space.
Presenter
Justin McKennon is a Principal Scientist at Electro Magnetic Applications and an industry recognized leader in understanding and simulating the effects of lightning and other electromagnetic effects, having published dozens of papers and been an invited speaker at numerous conferences and events. He obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts. He holds an FAA Designated Engineering Representative license in all lightning disciplines. His areas of expertise are in lightning effects on aircraft, wind turbines, systems, etc., finite element analysis, aircraft certification, and electromagnetic effects. He has previously worked for large defense contractors, and recently served as the Chief Engineer of NTS Lightning Technologies.