Central ND News

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced he will be meeting with officials from the Space Development Agency (SDA) and University of North Dakota (UND) this week to discuss three new collaborative efforts focused on educational opportunities and workforce development.

The first initiative is an Educational Partnership Agreement between SDA and UND. This agreement will allow SDA to loan defense laboratory equipment, transfer surplus computers and equipment, enable SDA personnel to teach science courses, provide sabbatical opportunities for faculty, offer internship opportunities for students, and involve faculty and students in projects. It will also allow students to receive credit for participation in projects, while SDA staff can provide academic and career advice.

The Educational Partnership Agreement designates SDA as a Defense Laboratory by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL).

Additionally, SDA is collaborating with UND to establish a student training center that will serve as a digital twin of the Operations Center North at Grand Forks Air Force Base. The center aims to mirror the capabilities of the actual operations center and maintain a high-speed connection with SDA’s equipment. It will be used to educate UND students on space and satellite constellation operations and serve as a test bed for improvements.

A third effort involves collaboration between SDA and UND’s Small Business Accelerator to support initiatives related to developing, populating, and operating low earth orbit satellite constellations. SDA may utilize some of its Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDTE) small business funding to advance UND’s efforts in transforming faculty and student research into productive small businesses. Cramer played a role in passing this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, which includes $19 billion in Space Force funding for research, development, testing, and evaluation efforts.

“Any one of these collaborations would be impressive on their own,” said Cramer. “But the three of them together really testify to the confidence the Space Development Agency and Space Force have in UND—and rightfully so.”

Cramer emphasized his long-term vision since 2019 when he began bringing national space leaders to UND and Grand Forks Air Force Base: “This is exactly what I envisioned... This is a long-term relationship that will benefit the United States of America, Grand Forks, North Dakota, and certainly the University of North Dakota.”

Joining Cramer at this week’s meeting will be Greg Wyler—founder, CEO & Chief Architect of E-space—and Visiting Fellow MIT Aeroastro. Wyler has been involved in making satellites that SDA will operate in future missions.

“I am excited that Greg was willing to join me,” said Cramer. “With his 35 patents related to satellite communications technology design... few people have as much experience in taking an idea and putting it into space.”