MSFC director honored at Auburn, signs Space Act Agreement

AUBURN, AL (WAFF) - Marshall Space Flight Center Director Todd May was a proud Auburn University alumnus the day after signing a Space Act Agreement with the university.

May looked on as he was honored at Saturday's halftime show, which celebrated the school's longtime history with NASA. This includes a second SAA and six astronaut alumni: Ken Mattingly, Hank Hartsfield, Huntsville's Jan Davis, "CC" Williams, James Shelton Voss and Kathryn Ryan Cordell Thornton.

"We're excited by this opportunity to continue building our research partnerships with Auburn," said May.

On Friday, May and John Mason, Auburn's vice president for research and economic development, signed an SAA between the school and NASA to collaborate on the development of wireless sensor and communication technologies.

This is the second SAA in 15 months between the two. The first focused on additive manufacturing or 3-D printing.

In this second agreement, the two entities will work together on wireless technology that can ultimately be used in space or avionics, such as the testing required on the Space Launch System being designed and developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

"Small, light, energy efficient wireless technologies hold tremendous potential for spacecraft in everything from the robotic explorers of distant planets to the powerful Space Launch System rocket that will launch human explorers to deep space and on to Mars," said May.

Something light and wireless is key during the SLS testing phase. Otherwise, engineers at Marshall would have to run miles of wires to monitor the rocket's main fuel tank. Wireless sensors could allow NASA to remotely keep tabs on the vehicle's tank.

"Similar to Auburn's partnership with NASA last year to provide additive manufacturing expertise, this new agreement for wireless engineering capabilities will further leverage Auburn research to enhance current systems to enhance current systems in space exploration," said Mason. "As the only university in the U.S. offering a degree program in wireless engineering, Auburn continues to be a leader in this field and this connection with NASA reflects that."

May graduated from Auburn's engineering department in 1990.

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