By Troy Turner
HUNTSVILLE – The U.S. Space Force is growing its presence in Alabama by partnering with Auburn University to expand logistical operations of the Space Development Agency.
The agency will move some of its offices and personnel into the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus, located at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, and thus provide a closer working relationship both parties consider ideal for promoting research and development of space assets.
The Space Development Agency (SDA), which became an arm of Space Force in October 2022, contributes to the nation’s defense by designing and rapidly deploying its “Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture,” which is a threat-driven constellation of small satellites that deliver critical services to warfighters from space.
Those services include sharing tactical data links, tracking of advanced missile threats, custody of time-critical land and maritime targets, and space-based battle management, among others.
The Space Force and SDA are closely tied to Huntsville’s massive military and defense industry presence that involves space and missile defense, and a large network of civilian space industries.
The SDA’s growth and need for more office space in addition to its current Huntsville facilities mirrors an increasing role of Space Force in Alabama. A portion of the Space Force Delta 13 branch, which involves education and training, is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery.
Delta 13’s stated vision is to serve as “the premier organization for development and education of space-domain experts, equipped to evolve space power for our nation and its allies.”
Auburn’s reach into space
Auburn University, meanwhile, has a storied history of space engineering, technology and research, and has its own close ties to Huntsville, which is home to many of NASA’s development operations.
Previous astronauts who flew in spacecraft for NASA and are Auburn graduates include famous space-travel names such as Ken Mattingly, Hank Hartsfield, Jan Davis, Kathyrn Thornton, Clifton Curtis Williams and Jim Voss.
The university also contributes to a wide range of research and development projects connected to national security.
“Auburn’s reputation for helping the nation remain the dominant power in space is pretty well known,” said Steve Taylor, the university’s senior vice president for research and economic development. “Our relationship with NASA, of course, is practically second to none among universities.
“We have also collaborated with the Missile Defense Agency and Space and Missile Defense Command on Redstone to support their efforts to defend our nation. This partnership with the Space Development Agency is yet another important step for Auburn as we strengthen our ties with the U.S. Space Force and help it accomplish its mission.”
In addition to logistical support, the partnership will provide opportunities for collaboration between the SDA and Auburn. The university’s Huntsville facility, opened in 2022, is associated with Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
“This new phase of Auburn’s relationship with the SDA is especially rewarding because it perfectly aligns with the original vision for the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus,” Taylor said. “We designed this cutting-edge campus not only to facilitate research but to be the go-to destination for government and industry entities within Redstone looking to accommodate and even train their workforce.”
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Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Some of the information for this report was contributed by the Space Development Agency and Auburn University. Photo above via Auburn University.
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