FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE WEBINAR
19 Million Miles Away: Infusion of a Flight Tested Technology Enabling Deep-Space Communications
Speakers
- Dr. Scott Green, Principal Engineer and Co-Founder, Controlled Dynamics Inc.
- Danielle McCulloch, Program Manager, NASA’s Flight Opportunities program
March 6, 2024
Abstract
Join this month’s webinar for insights into the development of a vibration isolation platform that was part of NASA’s first demonstration of optical communications beyond the Earth-Moon system.
Speakers will explore the technology’s maturation pathway that leveraged flight tests supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. This progression ultimately led to the platform’s infusion into the agency’s historic Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment aboard the Psyche mission. DSOC is a Technology Demonstration Mission aimed at streaming very high-bandwidth video and other data from deep space – enabling future human missions beyond Earth orbit.
Download the slides
Speaker Bios
Dr. Scott Green is a principal engineer and co-founder of Controlled Dynamics Inc. (CDI). He has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer, an M.S. in electrical engineering from USC, and a B.S. in aerospace engineering from CU-Boulder. He worked for Boeing/McDonnell Douglas Space & Communications Group for 10 years prior to forming Green Technologies in 2000 and CDI in 2005. His specialties include embedded real-time control, precision pointing control/stabilization, and system engineering/analysis.
Danielle McCulloch serves as the program manager for NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. Part of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, Flight Opportunities rapidly demonstrates promising technologies for space exploration, discovery, and the expansion of space commerce through suborbital testing with industry flight providers. She provides strategic integration between researchers, mission stakeholders, and flight providers, as well as other NASA programs, to maximize impact for technology advancement and ensure that the flight test community is actively engaged in available opportunities. During her time with NASA, Ms. McCulloch has also held positions as deputy program manager for Flight Opportunities and acting chief of staff for the Small Spacecraft Technology and Flight Opportunities program portfolio. She previously held various leadership roles in the medical device and paper manufacturing industries as well as served as vice president for a small technology transfer consultancy. Ms. McCulloch has a wide breadth of technology-related experience, including technology evaluation, technology transfer, entrepreneurship, developing a research culture, innovation management, and fostering researcher and inventor diversity. She holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Washington University and an MBA from Dartmouth College.
