Sierra Space donated a 22‑foot‑long, life‑size model of its Shooting Star cargo module to the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. The mockup, which had been housed at Kennedy Space Center about 30 miles from the campus, served as a design reference and training tool for engineers working on in‑space cargo transfer.
The module replicates the real cargo unit that attaches to a Sierra Space Dream Chaser commercial spaceplane, which can deliver up to 12,000 pounds of supplies, experiments and medical equipment to low Earth orbit. It includes a hatch that docks with the spacecraft and a section of storage lockers. The university plans to use the model as an interactive classroom and research facility for its emerging aerospace medicine program and the Center for Aerospace and Extreme Environments Medicine, a multidisciplinary effort involving faculty from medicine, engineering, computer science, psychology, arts and educational leadership.
The center will employ the mockup to train students and faculty on medical events that could occur in the confined environment of a spacecraft and to develop technologies and protocols that could also benefit military missions, deep‑sea explorers and remote communities. The donation reflects a longstanding professional relationship with Tom Marshburn, a former NASA astronaut who now serves as chief astronaut and vice president of programs at Sierra Space.
Press release issued by UCF Today:
https://www.ucf.edu/news/space-capsule-lands-at-ucf-college-of-medicine/
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