USM student partnering with NASA

Witold Fuchs, a third-year polymer-science doctoral student at the University of Southern Mississippi, is partnering with NASA to design and test carbon fiber composite material to construct hulls for spaceships and satellites. NASA is planning to launch Fuchs' material into space to test it onboard the International Space Station by June, according to USM. NASA is to attach samples of the material to the space station's exterior where it is to remain there for up to two years to test any degradation in space. Fuchs is currently working with scientists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to prepare the material for launch. The USM doctoral student will then spend this summer at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, where he will work with researchers on other new materials for use in space. (Source: USM News 05/16/19)