NASA, San Jose State team on tech

National Aeronautic and Space Administration

A joint effort between NASA and a San Jose State University-led consortium will celebrate the opening of two technology centers in California.

The Metropolitan Technology Center and the Space Technology Center will open Feb. 5 at NASA Research Park at Moffett Field, Calif., home of NASA's Ames Research Center. A Space Act agreement will be signed to establish the two technology centers and set forth the goals of the partnership.

Participants at the centers will develop new science and engineering technologies for the agency's educational programs. Along with government, industry and aerospace partners, the consortium also includes Stanford University, Santa Clara University and the Aerospace Corp. of Los Angeles.

The Space Technology Center will include Stanford's graduate engineering series on spacecraft design. In this program, students develop a space mission that culminates in the design, building and launch of a real satellite.

"With the signing of this agreement, we are taking major strides in developing NASA Research Park into a world-class, shared-use research and development campus in association with academia, industry and nonprofit organization," said G. Scott Hubbard, director of NASA Ames Research Center.

Programs within the Metropolitan Technology Center will focus on information technology, as well as education and workforce development, energy, sensors and wireless communication.

The consortium will also develop the Integrated Design Network, a new Web-based design center. Utah State University, a member of the Space Technology Center, is slated to be the first remote user of the network.