SOUTHAMPTON, Pa., Environmental Tectonics Corporations (OTC Bulletin Board: ETCC) (ETC or the Company) The National AeroSpace Training and Research (NASTAR()) Centers inaugural Suborbital Scientist-Astronaut Training Course begins next week at its facility just outside Philadelphia, PA. Thirteen researchers aimed at accompanying experiments on upcoming commercial space missions are expected to train.
The comprehensive, two-day course includes classroom instruction, overview of the commercial spaceflight industry, altitude chamber training, multi-axes centrifuge training for launch and reentry accelerations, and several distraction factor exercises with the goal of fully acquainting and preparing trainees for the physical rigors and time, pressure constraints involved during suborbital human spaceflight.
The Suborbital Scientist-Astronaut Training Course has been developed by The NASTAR Center and is organized by Dr. Alan Stern and Dr. Dan Durda of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). This partnership provides an opportunity for the scientific community to become educated about the potential to perform low-cost, repeatable, hands-on projects and experiments in space in the near future.
Dr. Alan Stern said: We are very much looking forward to the NASTAR course next week, which will be our first dedicated spaceflight familiarization activity. Were already preparing research experiments for suborbital spaceflight and look forward to soon seeing these experiments scheduled for flight.
The coming era of commercial suborbital spaceflight offers tremendous potential for the research and education communities, added Durda. The NASTAR Suborbital Scientist-Astronaut Course will provide us with important additions to our previous experience in high-performance aircraft, as well as valuable new training specifically aimed at getting us ready for suborbital spaceflight. As researchers working in a challenging, dynamic environment like that, its important to be well-prepared to make efficient use of the experiment time available to us in flight.
Brienna Henwood, Business Development and Program Manager for Space and Research at The NASTAR Center said, I am thrilled to add the Suborbital Scientist Course to our current offerings. The course is more than just physiology training, it provides an overview about suborbital research and is ideal for anyone interested in learning more about the growing opportunities that rest within the commercial spaceflight industry.
Institutions sending researchers, students and grad students to the inaugural program include: SwRI, Boston University, the Denver Museum of Natural Sciences (DMNS), the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Central Florida and the University Space Research Association (USRA).
About The NASTAR Center
The National AeroSpace Training And Research Center (NASTAR()) Center (www.NASTARcenter.com) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Environmental Tectonics Corporation. The NASTAR Center houses a variety of state-of-the-art equipment and professional staff to support the training and research needs of the aerospace community, including military aviation (fixed and rotary wing), civil aviation (fixed and rotary wing), space travel (government and private) and research support and data collection. The NASTAR() Centers equipment and programs are highly modular and flexible and can accommodate a wide range of aerospace training and research requirements
About Southwest Research Institute
Southwest Research Institute, an independent, nonprofit applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions, uses multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving. The Institute occupies more than 1,200 acres in San Antonio, Texas, and provides more than 2 million square feet of laboratories, test facilities, workshops and offices for more than 3,300 employees who perform contract work for industry and government clients.
ETC was incorporated in 1969 in Pennsylvania and celebrated our 40(th) anniversary in 2009. Our core technologies include the design, manufacture and sale of Training Services (TSG) which includes (1) software driven products and services used to create and monitor the physiological effects of flight; (2) high performance jet tactical flight simulation, and; (3) driving and disaster simulation systems, and Control Systems (CSG) which includes: (1) steam and gas sterilization; (2) testing and simulation devices for the automotive industry, and; (3) hyperbaric and hypobaric chambers. Product categories included in TSG are Aircrew Training Systems (ATS) and flight simulators, disaster management systems and entertainment applications. CSG includes sterilizers, environmental control devices and hyperbaric chambers along with parts and service support.
