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Wichita State University announced Tuesday that it will receive upwards of $10 million from NASA for aviation research.
The university's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) will receive the funding from NASA to focus its research on developing high-temperature advanced materials for use in hot structures and thermal protection systems for hypersonic vehicles like missiles, according to a news release from the university.
“Our collaboration with NASA Aeronautics will continue to advance through the Hypersonics Technology Project, focusing on sustaining hypersonic competency for national needs while advancing applied hypersonic research,” said John Tomblin, WSU senior vice president for Industry and Defense Programs and NIAR's executive director, in the release.
NAIR plans to research technological gaps for materials capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, extended flight times and the development of design databases. The program will add to the existing resources available through Wichita’s National Defense Prototype Center (NDPC), a collaboration between NIAR and Spirit AeroSystems.
The NDPC provides a secure space for high-temperature materials testing, development, prototyping and industrialization, WSU says.
Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran requested the funding for the program from NASA on behalf of Wichita State, according to the news release.
“The National Institute for Aviation Research plays an important role in the advancement of hypersonic capabilities,” Moran said in the release. “Over the past several years, I have been working to grow NASA’s footprint in Kansas, including hosting the NASA Administrator and several NASA leaders in Wichita. I worked to secure these resources from NASA to continue to build on this work and bring more exciting space and aerospace jobs and opportunities to our state.”
