 "Photo: Nancy Rosenthal/The Daily Texan")
While studying for finals, a group of aerospace engineering students has helped redesign a surveillance aircraft for defense contractor Raytheon.
“I have learned everything that’s involved in studying aircraft and software programs as well,” said Krystal Stewart, a member of the research team and an aerospace engineering senior. “Unmanned aircraft are complex.”
Named Killer Bee, Raytheon’s small unmanned air system is used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The Killer Bee, with its 10-foot wingspan, carries a small sensor for surveillance operations.
In October 2008, Raytheon approached Armand Chaput, a UT aerospace and mechanical engineering adjunct professor, to find a way to increase the time aloft for the aircraft.
“UT-Austin and Raytheon have a lot to gain from working together,” said Ryan Hartman, Raytheon’s director of unmanned systems, in an e-mail. “UT students have the opportunity to work on real-world problems and gain insight into how companies like Raytheon operate.”
Because of the short notice, Chaput informally selected four students in early February. The team began research in mid-February and will wrap up its work with a presentation for Raytheon later this month.
“Students can learn a lot because they can work with small unmanned air systems in a small room,” Chaput said. “It’s a nice-sized project for a university.”
At weekly meetings, Chaput assigns a task to each member. Each individual uses different software programs to lay out the design of the plane.
“We try to work together and communicate because we find it more difficult to work alone,” Stewart said.
Because the team works with a company trade secret, Raytheon communicates back and forth with Chaput via encrypted e-mails.
Aerospace engineering senior Charles Gilbreath helps with data acquisition and three-dimensional modeling for the research team.
“The military wants to do away with manned aircraft,” Gilbert said. “While surveillance is becoming increasingly unmanned with satellites, other areas will use unmanned aircraft in the future, too.”
Raytheon is entering its Killer Bee design proposal in a competition sponsored by the U.S. Navy on May 19.
“Regardless of the outcome, this technology will be used to develop a whole line of unmanned aircraft for Raytheon,” said Michael Nachshen, a Raytheon Missile Systems spokesman.
Chaput said he hopes that through projects like one, aerospace engineering can offer something more for students than other engineering fields can.
Be the first to comment on this article!