More launches ahead for the Hawaiʻi Space Flight Laboratory

Photo of the November 2015 Super Strypi launch from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Kauaʻi, courtesy of Dr Steven Businger (Dept of Atmospheric Sciences).

The Hawaiʻi Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL) is currently preparing for five space launches in the next two years with more opportunities on the horizon. “Hawaiʻi and the University of Hawaiʻi are now considered players in the aerospace industry,” said HSFL Director Luke Flynn.

HSFL had a key role in the first attempted space launch from Hawaiʻi in November 2015 from Kauaʻi’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF). Though the launch was unsuccessful, the years of research and work leading up to it created a foundation that has put Hawaiʻi on the aerospace map. HSFL designed and constructed the primary payload for the mission, a hyperspectral imaging satellite. More than 150 UH students gained real world experience building the sophisticated satellite that passed a rigorous NASA-based testing process before it was approved for a space launch.

“It proved that UH has the equipment and expertise to build and test small spacecraft,” said Flynn. “HSFL has clean-room facilities and small-satellite test equipment to fully train the next generation of small-satellite engineers.”

Hawaiʻi now has a rocket launch pad and a rail launcher at PMRF that were built for the November 2015 mission, critical assets for future space launches.

Read more about it, and watch video of the launch, in the UH System News; read more about it in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (subscription required).