The Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL), a research unit affiliated with Utah State University, has landed a new deal with the Department of Defense, forging further into the cosmos with military backing. As reported by USU Today, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration (SAF/SQ) will now usher SDL in its continued role as a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC), marking a significant shift in sponsor from its nearly 30-year alliance with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
The DoD has a history, since 1996, of embedding itself in the academic landscape through UARCs, which leverage the intellect found within university borders to spin the gears of technological advancement needed by the military, and each UARC aligns with a primary sponsor to channel its specialized skills, SDL, with its deep-rooted legacy that struck its first contract in 1959 with Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) takes pride in a suite of core competencies, including advanced sensing, space mission operations and cyber systems, the campus spreading from North Logan, UT to field offices in a scattering of strategic locations nationwide.
At the heart of this collaboration is the intent to propel technologies that bolster national defense, and "SDL’s long-standing commitment to advance technologies for national defense reflects a deep alignment with SDL’s core competencies and the space mission of the Department of the Air Force," said Dr. Jed Hancock, president of SDL, as obtained by USU Today.
