Florida Tech Professor Earns NASA Grant for Space Exploration Vehicle Project

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Ron Reichard, Florida Institute of Technology professor and director of laboratories, College of Engineering, has earned a NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium award for the project, Quick Connect Composite Structural Joint.

The focus of Reichard’s project is to design a multipurpose, quick connect/disconnect composite connector to replace the connectors currently used on NASA exploration vehicles, which are metallic and heavier. The technology can also be used for a composite truss, which could support antennas and other equipment, such as a 3D printer frame for building construction on the moon or Mars.

Reichard will coordinate this work with engineers and scientists at Kennedy Space Center and will involve a graduate student and several undergraduates.