FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE WEBINAR
Flight Testing Opportunities for Students
September 4, 2024
Speakers
- Anh Nguyen, Ph.D., Small Spacecraft Technology and Flight Opportunities Program Portfolio Integrator, NASA Headquarters
- Liam Cheney, Mission Manager for the NASA Launch Services Program, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
- Jose Núñez, Ph.D., P.E., University Partnerships/SmallSat Capabilities Manager, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Abstract
In a discussion moderated by Flight Opportunities personnel, representatives from across NASA will speak to the various avenues available to students for accessing flight tests. Speakers will give an overview of the fourth NASA TechRise Student Challenge, which invites sixth to 12th grade students to submit science and technology experiment ideas by November 1 for a chance to fly their payload on a commercial high-altitude balloon. The session will also highlight NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, which provides opportunities for CubeSats built by U.S. educational institutions and non-profit organizations to fly on upcoming launches. Join to hear more about the initiative and how to submit a proposal by the November 15 deadline as well as other opportunities that support hands-on STEM experiences for students of many ages.
Speaker Bios
Anh Nguyen, Ph.D., is currently the program portfolio integrator for NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology and Flight Opportunities programs. Anh has worked on a variety of CubeSat and suborbital flight tests during her career at NASA over the past 7 years. She has a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from University of Florida’s Precision Space Systems Laboratory with a focus on dynamic systems and controls and is passionate about rapidly demonstrating new space technologies.
Liam J. Cheney is a mission manager in NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) at KSC. In this role, he manages launches for the program. A major portion of his responsibilities includes co-managing the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. Cheney began his career at Kennedy in August 2018. He worked in LSP’s Vandenberg Space Force Base Resident Office in California as a launch site integration manager supporting LSP missions launching from Vandenberg. Before joining NASA, he worked in the commercial space industry. He supported CubeSat missions that flew as secondary payloads on a variety of government and commercial launches, including the Mars Cube One and Artemis I missions. Cheney earned a B.S. and M.S. in aerospace engineering, both in 2014, from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he participated in the Cal Poly CubeSat program.
Jose Núñez, Ph.D., is NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) University Partnerships & Small Satellite capabilities manager. In this capacity, he is tasked with increasing collaborations between university principal investigators and KSC investigators as well as leveraging infrastructure to increase University SmallSat development activities. Before that, he was the chief of the Flight Technologies Branch for the Exploration Research and Technology Programs Office. In this capacity, he led a group of science and technology researchers in the areas of electrostatics, advanced habitats, suborbital flights, unmanned aerial vehicle sensors, and space flight demonstrations. In his 33-year career with NASA, he has performed in multiple leadership, engineering, project, and mission management roles working on the International Space Station program with government, contractor, and university personnel across the U.S. and internationally, such as Brazil, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
