Launch to illustrate UH’s space potential

Hawaii could edge closer to establishing a space industry because the University of Hawaii is poised to become one of the few colleges with rocket launch capability later this year, according to Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory Director Luke Flynn.

"We’re trying to attract a small satellite industry to the state of Hawaii, and we’re hoping to create jobs within the state to actually facilitate building satellites here, in the state of Hawaii," Flynn said during a media conference call from Colorado, where he is attending a symposium.

He added that the university hopes to launch small satellites on a regular basis, which will attract companies looking for affordable ways to test space technology.

"The University of Hawaii helps to hold down the cost by playing a key role in the research and development of space technology, which also gives students hands-on experiences," he said. "This creates a win-win for the university, for the country, for the state, and also for the corporations that are willing to invest."

The university’s first launch, mission ORS-4, is also the first space launch for the state and is scheduled this October from the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai.

The mission is part of a program funded by the Department of Defense’s Operationally Responsive Space Office.

A Super Strypi missile will carry HiakaSat, an environmental monitoring satellite designed by UH students and faculty that will release 13 smaller CubeSat satellites, and put them into low-Earth orbit.

The Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory was established in 2007 to provide workforce development opportunities to Hawaii students.

"The work on this (ORS-4) mission is creating invaluable workforce development opportunities and training for students across the University of Hawaii system," UH President M.R.C. Greenwood said in a news release. "In addition, UH is helping to develop Hawaii’s space science enterprise. We hope our graduates will go to work for related research and technology companies right here in Hawaii or will go on to form their own space-science related businesses."

Flynn said Hawaii’s location in the Pacific provides it with some benefits as a space launch site.

"We’ve gotten a lot of requests for partnering for receiving station capabilities from antennae and for satellites that are passing over. It’s also an interesting location in terms of launch; being very close to the equator is a benefit for us, especially for small launch vehicles."

If the ORS-4 launch is successful, a possible second launch that could lift off sometime in the next couple of years could provide opportunities for ride-share technology development that would allow private-sector companies to test parts in space before actual implementation in space-bound technology.

A University of Hawaii spokeswoman said there is no funding for a second launch at this time.

"It could be a new economic sector here in Hawaii," Greenwood said. "This is a very attractive location for launching small satellites, lots of expertise out here and we are hoping that it is a possible, new business model. … Hawaii is located in a unique position to become a low-cost gateway to space."