Jul 07, 2009, post by Satellite News
Theodore H.H. Pian, who taught in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics for more than 40 years and was a pioneer in the stress analysis of materials in aircraft and other structures, died on June 20 in Cambridge after a long illness. He was 90.
“To me he exemplified a professor’s professor,” said James Mar, professor emeritus of aeronautics and astronautics. “He counseled students, he did research that contributed to the theoretical underpinnings for the massive computer programs that are routinely used for structural analysis, he created subjects for undergraduates and graduate students, he was respected by his peers and his deportment was always self-effacing.”
Pian was born in Shanghai, China in 1919, and recieved a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Tsing Hua University in Beijing. After working in the Chinese aircraft industry in the early years of World War II, he decided to live the United States in 1943, and earned an SM from MIT’s AeroAstro department in 1944 and a ScD in 1948.
Pian quickly progressed at MIT from AeroAstro teaching assistant and research associate to become a full professor of aeronautics and astronautics in 1966. He also gave lectures at 46 universities in the United States and at 55 universities in China, Japan, India, Israel, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries. He retired in 1990.
Always interested in foreign aerospace industry developments and his foreign students at MIT, Pian was also a visiting professor at 10 universities overseas during his career. He was an honorary professor at several leading engineering schools and aeronautical institutes in China.
“Ted Pian was a pioneer in the field of computational methods for structural analysis,” said Paul Lagace, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, who was Pian’s student before becoming one of his colleagues in the department. “His work helped lay the foundations on which many of today’s operational techniques are built. A number of his thesis students who worked directly with him on this development work are key contributors to this field throughout the world today.”
Pian wrote more than 200 professional papers and wrote or edited several books in the field of finite element method, a problem-solving technique that, among other things, allows engineers to create simulations that show in great detail where a structure might bend or twist. He pioneered analytical techniques that are used for many types of mechanical calculation, such as deformation, stresses and strains, and fracture in aircraft and other mechanical structures. These methods are now used in the design, evaluation, and testing of metals and other materials to predict accurately their strength and performance. The application of these methods range from bridges and large aircraft to precision-engineered optical, mechanical and electronic devices.
Apr 17, 2009, post by Satellite News
Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL) announced today that Comtech AeroAstro, Inc., has successfully delivered the first spacecraft bus for the US Air Force’s Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV) satellite program. This event marks the successful completion of the electrical and mechanical integration of all spacecraft components, as well as bus functional performance testing. The spacecraft bus is being developed under contract to Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. for the DoD Space Test Program headquartered at Kirtland AFB.
“We are pleased to achieve this critical milestone for the STP-SIV program,” said Mr. Paul Lithgow, President of Comtech AeroAstro. “STP-SIV will demonstrate that a ’standard’ vehicle can provide quick, affordable access to space for a wide variety of instruments.” STP-SIV accomplishes this by providing a small, highly capable bus platform with standardized payload interfaces that is compatible with a wide variety of launch vehicles and operates without modification in a range of low earth orbits. “Comtech AeroAstro team worked closely with Ball Aerospace and our Government customer in a ‘badgeless’ team environment to successfully complete initial performance testing and deliver this bus,” noted Mr. Roger Prokic, Comtech AeroAstro’s STP-SIV Program Manager.
Over the next several months, Comtech AeroAstro engineers will support Ball Aerospace as the company completes final bus testing, integrates the satellite payloads, and performs functional and environmental tests of the STP-SIV space vehicle to ensure nominal performance.
The first STP-SIV is currently scheduled for launch on a Minotaur IV from the AADC Kodiak Launch Complex, along with three other spacecraft, in late 2009.
Apr 17, 2009, post by Satellite News
Comtech AeroAstro, a wholly owned subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL) announced today that its satellite STPSat-1, built for DoD’s Space Test Program (STP), has completed its second year of successful on-orbit operation.
The STPSat-1 mission was launched on March 8, 2007, into Low Earth Orbit as one of the payloads on the maiden flight of the EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) ring aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle (AV-013 / STP-1). As a satellite without redundant hardware components, designed for a one-year life, this satellite continues to exceed the per-orbit data collection requirements of the two active Navy experiments onboard: the Spatial Heterodyne Imager for Mesospheric Radicals (SHIMMER) and the Computerized Ionospheric Tomography Receiver in Space (CITRIS). Comtech AeroAstro designed, built, and tested the spacecraft bus and integrated the SHIMMER and CITRIS payloads.
“We are pleased that STPSat-1 continues to return valuable science data to the DoD community well beyond its required mission life,” remarked Paul Lithgow, President of Comtech AeroAstro. “As smaller satellites continue to demonstrate their longevity and reliability, we look forward to more missions and more innovation – including support for the warfighter’s immediate tactical needs and demonstration of true plug-and-play capabilities. We also anticipate more ESPA launches and the resulting increased launch availability for this vehicle class.”
The Naval Research Laboratory, which built the SHIMMER and CITRIS payloads, operates STPSat-1 from their Blossom Point facility near LaPlata, Maryland in southern Charles County.
For the first year on-orbit, the project was sponsored by the DoD Space Test Program. The second year on-orbit has been sponsored by the Navy Research Laboratory.
Comtech AeroAstro, Inc., a Virginia-based company, is a leader in satellite systems, components, advanced communications technologies, and provides worldwide asset tracking by satellite.
