Return to BTJ Online

Dynamac collaborates on experiments destined for the International Space Station
Contractor provides science, engineering and technology services for federal, state and local government and private industry

by Kathy Hagood
Brevard Technical Journal

Ross Hinkle , Vice President and Chief Scientist Project Director for Dynamac Corporation. Photo by Craig Rubadoux, © 2003.

About 50 Dynamac Corp. plant researchers and life-sciences payload-processing technicians are now among the fortunate ones, having recently moved from an old modified hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the new Space Life Sciences Lab at KSC.

Rockville, Md.-based Dynamac, NASA-KSC's Life Sciences Services Contractor, is leasing the building, which was originally called the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory, from the State of Florida.

Unlike the hangar, which was a maze of laboratories, offices and storage areas, the new laboratory clusters research, payload, storage and administrative areas in an efficient and effective way. Resources brought in by new tenants, such as Florida Space Research Institute's scanning probe microscope, are added benefits.

"There's no doubt that this facility is much more conducive to our research," said Jay Garland, Dynamac's chief scientist.

Biological payload scientists from across the globe and university researchers focused on ground-based plant research will also benefit from the capabilities of the new 106,000-square-foot research laboratory.

The space lab, which was officially dedicated Nov. 19, was built through a NASA and state partnership facilitated by Florida Space Authority. The partners' goal is to provide a premier facility both for supporting life sciences and biotechnology experiments destined for the International Space Station (ISS), and for enhancing the ground-based fundamental and applied biological research of Dynamac, University of Florida, Florida Space Research Institute and others.

The space lab is part of a $30-million state appropriation that includes Space Commerce Way, a new route connecting the NASA Causeway and Kennedy Parkway. The road will provide 24-hour access to the International Space Research Park now being developed.

The lab and the park are expected to draw more life sciences and biotechnology scientists to KSC and enhance the center's reputation for collaboration and excellence in those areas.

Dynamac is creating a secure database system to enable national and international researchers to remotely access their life sciences and biotechnology project data real time.

Sharon Edney, Dynamac Research Scientist II does an advanced Life Support Research test for a "salad machine" for the International Space Station. The vegetables are grown hydroponically in the controlled Environental Chamber. Photo by Craig Rubadoux, © 2003.

"Principal investigators aren't always able to travel to KSC to monitor their projects, so we're developing a system to provide them access no matter where they are," said Stan Starr, Dynamac deputy project director and chief engineer. Starr is heading up the software development effort.

Dynamac researchers are known internationally for the quality of their life-sciences studies. With the new lab and increased potential for collaborative projects, Dynamac's scientific contributions are expected to grow.

"The vision is to be one big happy family collaborating on multiple research projects," said Ross Hinkle, Dynamac project manager.

Among Dynamac's life-sciences research projects:

• Ongoing ground-based experiments with wheat, soybean, potatoes and salad crops to determine how those plants can be integrated into a low-gravity environment to produce food for long-duration space exploration. Various experiments, for example, explore the effects of different types of lighting systems. A mixed crop salad evaluation experiment eventually may contribute to fresh salads for astronauts on the Space Station.
• Further analysis of data from a dwarf wheat experiment conducted on the Space Station. Early results have shown the wheat's on-orbit photosynthesis and transpiration rates are similar to those on Earth. That's important because it lends credence to 20 years of ground-based plant research for long-duration space flight.
• Research exploring how plants will respond to the Martian environment and what systems will be necessary for their success.
• A series of ground-based experiments designed to determine how to recycle wastewater and other waste products during space flight. This research has garnered increased attention as program managers seek to find ways to integrate recycling onboard the ISS.
• A long-term collaborative research project with the Smithsonian Institution, the Department of Energy and others to monitor the effects of increased carbon dioxide concentrations on a scrub oak plant community at KSC. The project is contributing to scientists' understanding of potential global warming effects.
• Collaborative research with the National Oceanic and Atmospher-ic Administration, including using new technologies to monitor aquatic environments on and near the space center. The data is helping marine biologists better understand how to increase diminished fish populations.

Charlie Quincy, NASA's chief of the biological sciences office at KSC, who previously served as the Life Sciences contract technical manager, has been pleased with the company's performance. "Dynamac has always been able to come to the table with high-level technical expertise. Their technical staff produces research that is published in widely read peer-reviewed journals," Quincy said. Dynamac has published 47 papers in peer-reviewed science publications within the past year.

The company was awarded KSC's Life Sciences Contract for the second time in December 2001. The broad, seven-year-plus contract is valued at $120 million and covers 14 mission areas including life sciences payload processing, microbial ecology, plant research, environmental monitoring, astronaut health, employee health, and life sciences education.

Bionetics Corp. is the subcontractor for the Life Sciences Contract, which includes about 140 Dynamac and Bionetics staff members.

During its eight-year tenure at KSC, Dynamac has won numerous KSC Contractor-of-the-Year awards and NASA-wide Contractor-of-the-Year awards.

"Being a long-term contractor is definitely an advantage in the work we do. Continuity is important," Hinkle said. "It's helped in attracting new programs and building the capabilities we already have in place."

Dynamac employs more than 400 scientists, engineers, technicians and administrative staff in its offices nationwide. The company provides science, engineering and technology services to federal, state and local government and private industry. The woman-owned business was founded in 1970.

For more information on Dynamac, visit www.dynamac.com.