Exploring Current and Projected Skills and Knowledge Areas to Meet U.S. Commercial Space Industry Needs

In 2007, the Committee on Meeting the Workforce Needs for the National Vision for Space Exploration published findings related to age and skills of the current National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) workforce and projected potential expertise shortages as a result of retirement in the 2014-2015 time frame. In addition, the expanding commercial space industry in both the United States and Europe will likely create further demand for space experts in engineering and a variety of related fields. Although NASA contributes $162 million in funding for education programs annually, those programs target kindergarten through grade 12, not collegiate-level programs. Further, few aeronautical/aerospace departments focused on education related to the development of space technologies, a discipline known as astronautics, exist in the US. In 2009, Doule and Peeters, Professors at the International Space University, sought to determine the need for space-focused knowledge and skills to support the European Union (EU) space industry. The results of Doule and Peeters\u27 2009 survey indicate an EU desire for space-specific educational programs to meet the needs of their commercial space industry. The researchers called for additional quantitative and qualitative studies to assess the emerging EU space industry workforce requirements and how to adapt space education and training curriculum. The purpose of this study is to develop a proactive model to assist U.S. educational institutions meet the projected U.S. space industry human resource needs. Findings from the proposed mixed-methods research program are to identify current and anticipated knowledge areas and associated skill sets within the U.S. space industry, and sub-industry aspects, to guide future collegiate-level curriculum development. Results from presented findings will be used toward a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for use in informed managerial decision-making of current/forecasted U.S. space industry human resource dynamics

Cognitive Engineering Research Methodology: A Proposed Study of Visualization Analysis Techniques

The rapid development of new sensors and wide-band communications provides the capability to collect enormous amounts of data. An increasing challenge involves how to understand and interpret the data to yield knowledge about evolving situations or threats (e.g., of military situations, state of complex systems, etc.). New visualization tools and techniques are becoming available to support advanced visualization including three-dimensional, full immersion display environments and tools to support novel visualizations. Examples include network system display tools and evolving multi-sensory situation environments. Despite the emergence of such tools, there has been limited systematic test and evaluations to determine the efficacy of such tools for knowledge understanding and decision making. This paper provides an overview of this problem and argues for the need to conduct controlled experiments. A sample experiment is suggested

Aircraft Cyber Security and Information Exchange Safety Analysis for Department of Commerce

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Next Generation Air Transportation (NextGen) program is a long-term modernization and transformation of the current National Airspace System (NAS) into a more effective and coordinated decision-making system. NextGen provides a more reliable, secure, and dependable aviation capability for both users and operators ensuring more capacity, throughput, and safety. This research delineates a high-level Safety Risk Assessment (SRA) related to NextGen technologies, specifically Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) as well as Aircraft Access to System Wide Information Management (SWIM) network (AAtS). Other communication mediums such as Mode-S or ADS-B transponder are also data exchange and broadcast capabilities in the aircraft can also be prone to lower level safety risks primarily because of an inability to ensure information security

From Sensors to Knowledge: The Challenge of Training the Next Generation of Data Analysts

With the advent of commercial-off-the-shelf sensors for use in a variety of applications, integration with analytical software tools, and expansion of available archived datasets, there is a critical need to address the problem of transforming resultant data into comprehensible, actionable information for decision-makers through rigorous analysis. In previous research the participating authors have emphasized that users are often faced with the situation in which they are “drowning in a sea of data” but still “thirsting for knowledge”. The availability of analysis software, tools, and techniques provide opportunities for information collection of ever increasing complexity, but the need for the training of analysts to employ appropriate tools and processes to ensure accurate and applicable results has not been addressed. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the training of effective analysts capable of handling a wide-range of data types in this era of dynamic tools and techniques