A Look Inside Space University
By John Oncea, Editor
The University of Central Florida, better known as SpaceU, is collaborating with NASA on the Artemis program, focusing on lunar research, technology, and workforce development.
The University of Central Florida (Go Knights!) football team recently announced special uniforms it will be wearing when it takes the field against the University of Arizona on November 2nd. According to UniWatch, UCF has been wearing “Space Game” uniforms since 2017 and the theme for this year’s edition is “Mission VIII: Powering Humankind’s Return to the Moon.”
“The ‘Space Game’ focuses on the university’s origins, while trying to advocate for support of the Kennedy Space Center & Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s space force branch,” writes UniWatch. “The uniforms are designed to recognize the University’s relationship with the nearby space exploration facilities. The Mission VIII uniforms are inspired by NASA’s Artemis program, intended to reestablish human presence on the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 and with a long-term goal of creating a permanent lunar base.”
As a Penn State fan, I like my uniforms simple. That said, the UCF uniforms are interesting.
The helmets are black with a Canaveral Blue stack logo, lunar dust speckles, and the school’s motto, “Reach for the Stars” on the back bumper. The jerseys are black with white numbers outlined in Canaveral Blue, and gray texture near the midsection to represent lunar regolith.
The pants are white with a segmented white stripe to represent the boosters of the Artemis program’s SLS rocket, and an Artemis-inspired patch on the right leg. Finally, the cuffs feature a constellation pattern featuring Orion and Pegasus, with Orion representing the road around UFC’s stadium and Pegasus representing the university’s vision of limitless possibilities.
So, why the focus on space? Well, because UCF – opened in 1968 as Florida Technical University – was founded to provide personnel educated in science, technology, engineering, and math to support the growing U.S. space program at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (known at the time as Cape Kennedy Air Force Station) on Florida’s Space Coast.
Where Do Astronauts Come From
The United States Naval Academy has produced the most astronauts with, according to U.S. News & World Report, a total of 55 Midshipmen starting their career there. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has produced 41 astronauts and the United States Air Force Academy another 38. Purdue University has graduated a total of 21 astronauts, including Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, the first and last (as of today) man to walk on the moon.
UCF has produced two alumni astronauts: Nicole Stott and Fernando “Frank” Caldeiro. According to Pegasus, “Stott became the first UCF grad to blast off into space and the first UCF grad to live on the International Space Station.” She flew again on the final mission of Discovery. Caldeiro actively participated in 52 space shuttle launches during his eight-year tenure at NASA KSC.
While having two alumni astronauts is impressive, UCF is better known for supplying engineers to the aerospace industry in large part because that is exactly what it was designed to do. According to the university, it, NASA, and the Kennedy Space Center – where nearly one in three employees are UCF graduates – have had a decades-long research and academic partnership. In addition, more than 30 graduates are involved in NASA’s Artemis I mission to return astronauts to the moon.
“At the heart of Central Florida and its booming space economy, SpaceU — UCF — is relentlessly growing its research and educational efforts to support our vision of available and accessible space technologies for humankind,” says Julie Brisset, interim director of UCF’s Florida Space Institute.
Inside SpaceU
NASA employees come from a diverse range of colleges and universities across the U.S. Many NASA engineers graduate from top-ranked aerospace and engineering programs, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University, University of Michigan, Virginia Tech, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, NS California Institute of Technology (Caltech), according to College Values Online.
NASA aims to diversify its workforce by recruiting from a wide range of institutions including historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and community colleges through programs like NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars.
While prestigious engineering schools are well-represented, NASA also recruits heavily from state schools and universities near its various centers including:
- Texas A&M University and University of Houston (for Johnson Space Center)
- University of Alabama (for Marshall Space Flight Center)
- Virginia schools like Old Dominion University and the University of Virginia
Also in this category is UCF for Kennedy Space Center.
As far as institutions of higher learning go, UCF is relatively new. It was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University to provide personnel for the growing U.S. space program at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and it achieved that, serving as the top supplier of graduates to the aerospace and defense industry.
UCF has received significant funding for space-related research starting with a $12,500 NASA research grant in 1968. In 2013, NASA awarded UCF $55 million for the GOLD mission, making UCF the first Florida university to lead a satellite mission for NASA. To date, UCF has received over $124 million in space-related research grants.
The Florida Space Institute, founded in 1990, is based at UCF and supports space research, development, and education activities while the Robinson Observatory, dedicated in 1996, provides hands-on learning for astronomy students. In addition, UCF houses NASA’s Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science.
Researchers at UCF have been responsible for numerous contributions to space exploration and discovered an exoplanet candidate named UCF-1.01 in 2012. The university's Exolith Lab has produced and shipped 25 tons of simulated extraterrestrial soil for NASA and commercial companies to test equipment for Moon, Mars, and asteroid missions.
UCF faculty and researchers are involved in various NASA missions, including future lunar missions and the ongoing OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons missions.
UCF Helping Power Our Return To The Moon
UCF and NASA are collaborating extensively on the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon and establish a sustainable presence there. For starters, UCF researchers are developing novel composites for use in extreme lunar environments.
The university is also contributing to the creation of high-resolution maps of the lunar surface to identify potential exploration sites, as well as participating in missions like L-CIRiS and Lunar-VISE, which will help improve lunar surface exploration techniques.
In addition, UCF is actively involved in NASA’s Lunabotics Challenge with the university’s Florida Space Institute and Exolith Lab hosting the first round of the competition. This challenge supports the Artemis program by encouraging students to design and build autonomous lunar rovers.
UCF alumni are also directly involved in Artemis mission operations in crucial roles such as managing countdown, safety operations, and even operating the crawler that transports the Space Launch System rocket.
Through these multifaceted collaborations, UCF is making significant contributions to NASA’s Artemis program, helping to advance human space exploration and inspire the next generation of space professionals.
NASA Endorsed
Speaking at UCF’s Spring 2024 commencement, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “Knights, it’s no wonder that since the beginning, NASA has relied on UCF to help in our moonshots. And Knights, it’s no wonder that it’s going to be a member of your generation who leaves their footprints on the red sands of Mars. So, to the Class of ‘24: you have moonshots in your DNA.
“Moonshots are big things. They’re bigger than any one of us. They’re bigger than all of us. Like Pegasus, you now have to reach for the skies – and now you can carry thunder and lightning with you. And you know how to aim for the moon – because this is America’s Space University.”
UCF has established itself as a leading institution in space education and research, with a 50-year legacy of producing space professionals. The university’s focus on space technologies and systems draws from its reputation as SpaceU, leveraging advanced research facilities and interdisciplinary expertise across various fields. This comprehensive approach has positioned UCF at the forefront of space exploration, contributing to technological advancements, medical research, and scientific discoveries that impact our daily lives.