By Taylor Emerson

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For me, it was hidden from view — whether because as a student my head was buried in the coursework ahead of me or because it really does take a close look behind closed doors to unveil it.

But upon examination, it is apparent.

This university — Utah State University — is interwoven in the past, present, and future of humanity’s pursuit of the stars.

Pointing solely to our designation as a space-grant university, our directive, as given by NASA in 1989, is to, in part, “understand and participate in NASA’s aeronautics and space projects.”

And we have taken up that mantle in earnest.

USU has contributed to NASA’s goals through our expertise and research in the fields of engineering, physics, and plant physiology. We’ve had our Aggies fly on the space shuttle, we’ve had our crops grown in the International Space Station, and we’ve had our collective hand in innumerous satellite missions searching the cosmos for their designated objectives.

One such orbiter — small as it was at roughly four-inches square — was built entirely by undergraduate students. Their creation was jettisoned from the International Space Station in 2022 and circled the planet demonstrating their scientific payload — the AeroBoom. It orbited for nearly five continuous months.

A not-so-small feat as they claim it to be the world’s first completely undergraduate-built CubeSat.

But, again, I was blissfully unaware of this work being underway as I paced the campus myself, tramping from class to class, unaware I, myself, may have been able to somehow contribute to a space-faring mission during my time as a student.

And you probably could’ve too.

USU’s Space Dynamics Laboratory was first conceived as the Electro-Dynamics Laboratories (EDL) at the university in 1959 — and then joined with a sister lab at the University of Utah in 1970 to officially become the space-focused entity we know today.

But think about that for a moment, since 1959 — now some 65 years distant — this little, small-town state college has had aspirations about the stars.

The theme of this issue, close to my heart, and selfishly close to a topic that is of great interest to me, is meant to share with you some of the fantastic stories of my, and presumably your, alma mater’s involvement in space. I hope it impresses upon you at least a few eyebrow-raising “huhs,” or, maybe in more grandiose language, a sense of pride in our university.