MAE 491/492
Integrated Product Team
Design Examples
Bringing the Real World into the classroom.
Senior Design
• MAE 491/492
– Capstone Senior Design for Mechanical/Aerospace
Engineering
– Referred to as “Integrated Product Team” (IPT)
– Work on real engineering design projects from NASA
and DoD
– Lots of interaction with public and private sector
engineers, managers, and technical experts
– Partnerships with other universities, in the U.S. and in
Europe
– Open House, practice interviews, job preparation
2
Past Projects – Real World Challenges
27 projects through Spring 2010
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Recent IPT Projects
• 2007 – Lunar rover
• 2008 – Lunar lander
• 2009 – Spacecraft to service telescope,
manned lunar rover, 24m telescope, and a
rocket deployed UAV
• 2010 – Mars Sample Return mission,
Spacecraft for deep-space science
missions
4
2008
• LETS
– Lunar Exploration
Transportation System
– Standard EELV capable
– Lunar south pole
(Shackleton Crater)
– Must have mobility on
the surface of the
Moon
5
2008
LETS (continued)
6
2009
• ASTRO
– Autonomous
Spacecraft for
Telescope Rendezvous
and Operations
– Must be able to service
a large telescope in
space
– Standard EELV capable
– L2 orbit and
environment
7
2009
• ASTRO
(cont.)
8
2009
• EDLER
– Extended Duration
Lunar Exploration
Rover
– Support up to three
astronauts for
missions in excess of
13,000 km
– Store enough power
for night-time driving
9
2009
• GEMS
– Group Engineered
Mirror Structure
– 24 meter filled, single
aperture far infra-red
telescope
– Ares V launch vehicle
– L2 orbit
– 30 year life
10
2009
• RDLV
– Rocket Deployed
Loiter Vehicle
– Loiter vehicle (UAV)
that fits inside
existing missile
– Maintain 20km
altitude for 24 hours
– Can carry optical
sensor packages
Packaged Wings
Motor
Collapse
GPS/IMU
d
Battery
Propeller
Pack
Sensor
Package
Pressure
Vessel
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2010
• Mars Sample Return
mission
– Ares V launch vehicle
– Bring back 50 kg of
samples from Mars
– Partner with 3 other
universities and 1 HS
Mars Sample Return Mission Patch
• New Frontiers
– Deep space NASA
missions
– 1 university and 2 HS
partners
New Frontiers Mission Patch
12
Student Experiment Education Project
• High School Partners
– Austin and Decatur HS
– Spring 2010, pilot
program
– Created designs that
flew aboard our
spacecraft as payload
– Participated in design
reviews
13
U.S. Partner Universities
• Southern University in
Baton Rouge, LA
– ME students team with
our students for
designs
– Utilize IT based
communication tools
• College of Charleston
in Charleston, SC
– Science students,
define science
objectives for our
missions
UAHuntsville students visit Southern University in
Baton Rouge (top); and UAHuntsville students
visit students in Charleston, SC (bottom)
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International Partners
• IPT students work work
with students from
other countries on their
designs
– ESTACA University, in
Paris, France
– Aachen University, in
Aachen, Germany
– Glasgow University in
Glasgow, Scotland
• Photos: UAHuntsville
students visiting our
international partners
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UAH IPT
• Real-World design
projects
IPT
“Team
Room”
– NASA, DoD lead projects
– Interaction with NASA,
DoD, and private industry
engineers and managers
• Distributed engineering
design teams
– Multiple U.S. partner
universities
– Multiple international
partner universities
IPT Open
House
IPT
Presentations
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