The launch is scheduled for 2:16 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and will deliver cargo and crew supplies to the International Space Station. Several experiments on the flight will include:

Colwell’s experiment in a six-inch-square box will look at slow-speed collisions of dust, which aren’t possible to create in Earth’s gravity. The results of the low-energy collisions will be used to help understand the processes in action in the protoplanetary disk, the disk of dust and gas that surrounds the center of our solar system. The test will lay the groundwork for experimenting with larger particles.

Colwell, who is also assistant director of the , studies the origin of the solar system, including the early stages of planets, Saturn’s rings, and the evolution of comets and asteroids.

His experiment was chosen two year ago. The project is sponsored by Space Florida, which is Florida’s spaceport authority and aerospace development organization, and NanoRacks, a private company that operates the first commercial laboratory in low-earth orbit. Colwell, the primary investigator on the project, will be out of town and won’t be able to witness the launch, but members of his team –Addie Dove, Julie Brisset and some students – will be on hand when the experiment lifts off.

Dunn’s experimental 3-D printer in space would cut down on resupply missions and would be the first time something is manufactured off the planet, which is a necessary step toward multi-planetary colonization.

The printer could make replacement parts and other items needed, reducing the need for hauling expensive parts and materials aboard spacecraft.

The aerospace engineer (’07, ‘09) interned at Kennedy Space Center and co-founded the company Made in Space, which is now based in NASA Ames Research Park at Moffett Field, Calif.

Both experiments were selected as part of NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program.

NASA and   announced Tuesday that 12 university experiments, two industry-developed technologies and two NASA projects were selected for the mission.

Joshua Colwell, a UCF physics professor and assistant director of the , leads the UCF experiment, which will look at how a projectile launched into simulated moon dust or asteroid material will behave in weightlessness. The knowledge of this behavior will help in understanding future operations on asteroids or low-gravity moons for scientific study and resource collection.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to fly our experiment aboard the first commercial research flight chartered by NASA,” Colwell said. “It is important that scientists have access to these kinds of flights that don’t require deep-space travel. What we can learn will have a significant impact in how we plan for those deep-space missions.”

Made in Space, a company founded by UCF engineering graduate Jason Dunn (’07, ‘09), will test a 3-D printer developed for space during the flight as well. Dunn’s vision for the printer, which he shared when he visited UCF last year, is to be able to produce whatever is needed for space operations in space via the printer. From housing material to replacement parts, the goal would be to build it in space, lessening the need to haul expensive and space consuming materials aboard spacecraft.

The experiments were selected as part of NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program. All the experiments need the few minutes of zero gravity that will occur when SpaceShipTwo flies. NASA has been working with commercial companies, universities and government organizations to coordinate testing of innovative space technologies on research flights through the use of commercial suborbital opportunities. A date for the flight has not been announced.

In April 2013, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo broke the speed of sound barrier, according to the company. It is now in the final phase of vehicle testing before it can begin commercial service from Spaceport America in New Mexico. Company founder Richard Branson has said that he expects SpaceShipTwo will fly before the end of 2014.

Colwell joined UCF in 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Stetson ����ֱ�� and a Ph.D. in astrophysical, planetary and atmospheric sciences from the ����ֱ�� of Colorado at Boulder. He has worked on many NASA missions including the Cassini mission, which is unlocking the secrets about Saturn’s rings. Colwell is also assistant director of FSI, an organization at UCF that supports space research, educational activities and development of Florida’s space economy.

Jason Dunn is co-founder of Made in Space, a company that is working with NASA to place a 3-D printer on the International Space Station. A 3-D printer in space would cut down on expensive resupply missions and would be mankind’s first foray into manufacturing off world. It’s a necessary step to multi-planetary colonization, he said.

Trekkies can think about this as a prototype of a Star Trek replicator. Yeah, sounds crazy, Dunn admits, but coming up with crazy ideas and going after them has been the key to success for this engineering alumus.

“You could email the specs for a spare part to the printer on the space station,” Dunn told a crowd of students listening to his talk sponsored by the Engineering Leadership and Innovation Institute (eli2) at the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Think about that. Crazy, right. Well, that’s exactly what we will be doing.”

Made in Space is now it is in the final stages of testing the specially designed spce 3-D printer and it is scheduled for launch on a Space X rocket ship in 2014.

So how did this ’07 and ’09 aerospace engineering alumus succeed so quickly?

“Set something so wild that people will think you are crazy,” he told the students. “Then do it.”

Dunn shared how he had dreamed of working on the Space Shuttle program while he attended UCF.  When he interned at the Kennedy Space Center he got the opportunity to crawl around the guts of Shuttle Discovery, which cemented his passion for space. But he also saw the start of the layoffs that would culminate with the retirement of the shuttle program .

“I was crushed,” Dunn said. “I had planned my whole life to work for NASA, but through the internship I figured out a very important lesson. It’s not so important what you do for a living as it is what you’re living to do.”

He decided that rather than find another space-related employer, he’d envision a future in space and then work to make it a reality.  He’s off to a great start, having already launched two successful companies, one even before graduating from UCF.

In 2008, Dunn formed Earthrise Space Inc. to give students first-hand experience building real space missions. The company entered the Google Lunar X Prize competition, which will give a private company that lands a robot on the moon $30 million. On the way to doing that, Earthrise landed a NASA contract worth up to $10 million. In 2010, Dunn launched Made in Space and he also began work with Moon Express, another company going after the Google Lunar X prize competition. In 2013, Dunn left Moon Express to dedicate his time to Made in Space at NASA Ames Research Park in Moffett Field, Calif.

As work on the 3-D printer intensified and began passing NASA testing hurdles, word got out. In the past few months he’s been quoted on CNN, Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune and many others as reporters have started telling the story of a 3-D printer in space and how it could revolutionize space exploration.

Dunn spent an afternoon with his alma mater this month to share his story and to help inspire students to dream big and turn those dreams into reality.

Among his tips for success:

So how did it all start for Dunn? It was a walk through the Engineering II building back in summer 2005. He found a flier about the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space club, but first  thought it was a model-rocket club. It was much more.  It led to the formation of Earthrise and  was the first outside–the-classroom opportunity he took, Dunn said. He went on to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in aerospace engineering at UCF.

Dunn never looked back. He said he always looks forward, trying to anticipate what will come next. Made in Space is already thinking about what comes after the 3-D printer in space and the colonization of a few planets, he told the group.

Crazy yes, and that’s the way he likes it.

eli2was developed based on input from engineering leaders in the corporate, government and academic sectors to prepare UCF engineering and computer science students to be technical leaders and lifelong learners.

The institute strives to transform students so they can easily transition from the classroom to the workforce with sought-after proficiencies. Students are taught to collaborate and work effectively in teams, make impactful presentations, communicate with polished speaking and writing skills, and contribute with ethical responsibility and knowledge of global issues.