Published: June 11, 2009 10:41 pm      

Space science center opens

Facility puts MSU light years ahead in research, academics

MOREHEAD — The opening of Morehead State University’s new Space Science Center Thursday puts the university’s space program far ahead of where it was a decade ago.

The gleaming, 45,000-square-foot building is light years away, figuratively speaking, from the threadbare old house that served as its quarters then.

Packed with state-of-the-art equipment and linked to the 21-meter space antenna on the ridge overlooking Nunn Hall, the center will house a program designed both for research and to prepare students for jobs in the burgeoning space industry.



“This is the most exciting project in Morehead State history,” said MSU President Wayne Andrews during a ceremony to mark the opening.

In addition to classrooms and offices, the center houses electronics laboratories, an anechoic chamber that recreates the electromagnetic environment of space, rooftop antenna range, space systems development laboratory and a planetarium.

“It’s hard to believe we’ve gotten to this place,” said a beaming Ben Malphrus, professor of space science and director of the center. “We’ve come a long way.”

MSU’s four-pronged space science program includes academics, research, mission support and public outreach, Malphrus said.

MSU is one of only five universities in the country that offers a bachelor’s degree in space science.

Among other things, students in the program will staff actual space missions as ground control. The center houses a control room that will be linked to the 21-meter antenna, which will serve as a ground control link to a satellite to be launched in January by KySat, a research consortium of universities and private organizations.

The planetarium, called the Star Theater, is a 108-seat classroom that uses digital star projectors. The theater can be used both for space science classes, for visiting grade school and high school students, and for public presentations.

“The facility and the program create enormous opportunities for students,” Malphrus said. “The space economy grew last year. The job market is robust.”

The space industry includes much more than exploration, he said. Jobs are plentiful in finance, communications and other industries that rely on satellites for moving data.

MSU’s program differs from those at most universities in that undergraduates get involved with research projects, said staff electrical engineer Jeff Kruth. Virtually every course has a lab component, he said.

Still needed at the center is more electronic equipment, and that should be coming soon.

Gov. Steve Beshear, who attended the ceremony, announced that the program will receive a $750,000 equipment grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Over time, the center will aid the goal of developing a cottage aerospace industry in Kentucky, Malphrus said.