The NASA Space Shuttle???A Vehicle for University/ Industry Educational Interaction

In December of 1982 Worcester Polytechnic Institute, with the cooperation and support of the MITRE Corporation, initiated a program to propose, select, design, and develop experiments to be flown onboard a NASA Space Shuttle. The educational objectives of this program, based on the experiences of the students, and the cooperative objectives based on the experiences of the faculty and staff of the two institutions, are presented. All of the proposed experiments are being developed by undergraduates with the advisorship of WPI faculty. MITRE engineers and scientists are supporting the projects through detailed development advice, design reviews, and program management advice. Overall, the program will require four years of effort, involving between 30 and 50 students and approximately a dozen WPI faculty and MITRE professional staff each year. The administrative structure designed to coordinate this program, the logistics of interactions between WPI, MITRE, and NASA, and the program schedule are presented in detail.