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APL and the Whiting School have collaborated with SAIS to offer program candidates access to subject-matter experts and state-of-the-art, classified facilities as they work on their research projects. Students are also given the option to select space-based STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) elective courses through the Whiting School so they can mold their coursework to their career objectives and learning goals.

Last year with the program’s inaugural class, the Lab was able to leverage its experts to help a student with his research thesis by connecting him with an APL project in support of a military sponsor.

This year’s cohort was treated to tours that showcased APL’s expertise in both national security space and civil space. They included a presentation on the Lab’s space warfighting analysis center (SWAC); the Deep Space Advanced Radar Concept (DARC) that APL delivered to the Space Force in 2022; a visit to the mission operations center where the Lab led mission to successfully demonstrate the world’s first planetary defense test mission; and a look at the spacecraft currently housed in one of the Lab’s clean rooms.

“It’s such a privilege to have these top-notch individuals visit,” said Nick Rotunda, APL project manager of national security space training and education. “We’re eager to see how we can share our expertise and provide them a platform to collaborate with our researchers and engineers and successfully launch them to the next stage of their careers.”