FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE WEBINAR
Planning Successful Tests on Suborbital Rocket-Powered Vehicles
Speakers:
- Ryan Dibley, NASA’s Flight Opportunities Campaign Manager
- H. Todd Smith, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
August 4, 2021
Abstract
Flight tests on rocket-powered vehicles are critical for understanding how technologies perform in the intense and unique environment of launching to suborbital space. Preparation for these tests, however, requires a unique and careful approach to planning. Join Flight Opportunities Campaign Manager Ryan Dibley and Flight Opportunities-supported researcher Dr. Todd Smith to get their perspectives on best practices for preparing for suborbital rocket flights. This session will benefit researchers planning for flight tests of any kind, as well as anyone interested in learning more about building flight test logistics into a technology development plan.
Download the slides
Speaker Bios
With almost two decades of experience at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, Ryan Dibley brings a rich technical background to his role as campaign manager for the Flight Opportunities program. Ryan manages flight campaigns for technology payloads flying with Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, Masten Space Systems, and Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G). Prior to this role, he served as chief engineer on the subscale towed glider air launch system at NASA Armstrong, and much of his earlier experience involved flight tests of different varieties.
Dr. H. Todd Smith is a space physicist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. His research focus is on magnetospheric science and instrumentation, particularly related to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Mercury. He has served as a co-investigator or team member for technologies leveraged on several NASA missions. Additionally, Todd has led APL’s efforts to utilize commercial spacecraft for over eight years, and has developed seven payloads selected for flight with NASA’s Flight Opportunities program.
