In the modern space race, LSU physicist Jeffrey Chancellor founded a company aimed at developing technology for use on both commercial and government space missions.
Atlantis Industries holds three patents designed to make space travel safer and easier, Chancellor said. Atlantis was founded in 2021.
One technology, Phalanx AI, uses artificial intelligence to design optimized radiation shielding for spacecraft based on mission specifications.
“We design the shield based on mission and trajectory,” the prime minister said. “So instead of doing a generic shield design for a satellite, which is usually done, consider what the radiation environment will be for that particular mission, what your goals are, and what the minimum requirements are for that. We want it to operate efficiently, and we’ve designed it around that.”
Atlantis currently offers two technologies in addition to Phalanx AI: ReForge and Tiger Eye.
ReForge reproduces the space radiation environment with a heavy ion accelerator. It is used to test satellite and other spacecraft hardware to ensure that it can withstand radiation.
Aiming to collect data on radiation on the Moon, Tiger Eye is a radiation detector that will be delivered to the South Pole of the Moon. It will fly aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and will be attached to a lander developed by another company, Intuitive Machines. Once you land on the moon, it will work forever until it stops working.
Tiger Eye was originally scheduled to fly on NASA’s IM-1 mission, but it was deprioritized, Chancellor said. Instead, it will fly on the IM-2 mission. The mission has been delayed, but it will launch later this year or early next year, he said.
Another tiger eye detector will be placed in orbit around the moon and launched by Intuitive Machines as part of NASA’s commercial lunar payload service, the prime minister said. The second, Tiger Eye, provides measurements of radiation in space around the Moon.
The prime minister said it should be launched around early 2023.
The mission will see NASA return to the moon for the first time in 50 years, and LSU will be the first university to put technology on the moon.
The technology is being developed by students at LSU’s SpaRTAN lab under his guidance, he said. The Institute’s Space Radiation and Applied Nuclear Physics is focused on studying the effects of space radiation on human crews and spacecraft hardware, their website reads.
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The mission’s first commercial partner was an engineering firm called Geocent, which spent about $300,000 on the mission, Chancellor said. Since then, they have focused their efforts elsewhere, and now Atlantis is their commercial partner.
The prime minister hopes the Tiger’s Eye detector will be used beyond this lunar mission, and plans to continue expanding Atlantis into other areas of the space travel industry.
“I have worked with or for NASA for 25 years in the areas of vehicle design, basic research and shielding. It has always been relevant to that industry,” the prime minister said. “So, cooperating with the Space Force, [the] The Department of Defense or all these commercial companies starting to grow. SpaceX and Amazon have been making a lot of calls lately to talk about satellites and stuff like that. “
The president is careful to separate Atlantis from his work at LSU’s College of Science. The company’s day-to-day operations are run by his CEO, Brad Morrison.
Samuel Bentley, vice president of LSU’s Office of Research, Economic Development, said the university, as a space-funded university, places great importance on research related to space technologies, such as those being developed by its presidents and students. rice field.
“The reason the Land Grant University was established was to improve the conditions of the people at home,” said Bentley. “It’s very specific and very focused on serving the people of the state. I can imagine it has the same intention of supporting future developments.”
LSU is involved in a laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory, Bentley said. He is also involved in new metals, alloys, and methods of manufacturing items for use in the Engineering School’s spaceships.
Another LSU professor and biologist, Mahesi Dasanayake, is studying how plants evolved to grow in extreme environments, a study that will help NASA grow plants on Mars.
“The super cool Jeff Chancellor radiation shielding work is complete. We are very excited about the prospect of one of the first university owned and operated sensors or experiments on the moon.” said Bentley.
Bentley said parts of the Artemis rocket, the spacecraft that NASA is testing to eventually bring humans back to the moon, are large machines owned by LSU at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where NASA assembles large rockets. was manufactured using
These machines were developed by the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, a partnership between LSU, NASA, the University of New Orleans, and the state of Louisiana to develop manufacturing technologies relevant to NASA’s space program and other industries.
In addition to NASA, state governments are also interested in setting up space campuses to support research related to space technology like the Prime Minister’s, Bentley said.
“I think there is a rosy future for space-related research and space technology at LSU in Louisiana in the near future,” said Bentley.
