(GRAND FORKS) – Senator Kevin Cramer has spent time this week with the University of North Dakota and Space Development Agency (SDA).
On Thursday morning, Cramer met with faculty from the University and the team from the SDA to highlight the agency’s latest investments in Grand Forks.
Cramer and SDA’s meeting with school faculty centered on workforce development and the educational initiatives Cramer announced earlier this week. E-Space founder, CEO, and Chief Architect Greg Wyler accompanied Cramer to hear how SDA and UND’s efforts can help space and satellite companies like his.
These initiatives include an Educational Partnership Agreement between SDA and UND to permit SDA to loan defense laboratory equipment, transfer surplus computers and equipment, allow SDA personnel to teach science courses, provide sabbatical opportunities for faculty and internship opportunities for students, and involve faculty and students in projects.
SDA will build a student training center, which will be a digital twin of the Grand Forks Air Force Base (GFAFB) Operations Center North to allow for space and satellite constellation operations training and a test site for improvements to the center. SDA will also work with UND’s Small Business Accelerator to boost efforts related to developing, populating, and operating low earth orbit satellite constellations.
