Stephen Whitmore

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Professor

Contact Information

Go toOffice Location: ENGR 419F
DialPhone: 435-797-2951
SendEmail: stephen.whitmore@usu.edu

Educational Background

PhD, Aerospace Engineering - Flight Dynamics and Control, (Applied Mathematics, Fluid Mechanics), University of California, Los Angeles, 1989 Dissertation

Formulation and Verification of a Technique For Compensation of Pneumati Attenuation Errors in Airborne Pressure Sensing Devices

Other, University of California, Los Angeles, 1987

MS, Mechanics and Structures, University of California, Los Angeles, 1983 Thesis

Formulation and Implementation of a Practical Algorithm for Non-Stationary Adaptive State Estimation with Applications to Air Mass Reference Measurements

BS, Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1980

Expertise

Dr. Stephen A. Whitmore is Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and director of the Propulsion Research Laboratory at Utah State University. He has more than 30 years of academic, technical, and program management experience in the aerospace industry. His areas of expertise include solid and hybrid propulsion systems, high speed atmospheric reentry, hypersonic aerodynamics, and aerodynamic measurements technologies.

Biography

Dr. Whitmore joined USU in 2005 after more than 25 years as a civil servant for NASA. Prior to accepting early retirement from NASA, Dr. Whitmore served multiple roles within the agency including those of principal investigator, chief engineer, branch chief, and program manager. While at NASA he was fortunate to have worked on 7 different "X-planes." Dr. Whitmore is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA, and is a member of the AIAA Space Systems and Hybrid Propulsion Technical Committees. Dr. Whitmore is a strong advocate for the developing commercial space industry, and is a Member of the Commercial Space Flight Federation. Dr. Whitmore is a licensed private pilot with more than 400 hours as pilot in command and has accumulated numerous flight and flight-simulator hours as a flight test engineer in several military-class high performance jet aircraft.

Teaching Interests

Dr. Whitmore teaches upper division and graduate classes in fluid mechanics (MAE 5420 Compressible Fluids), propulsion systems (MAE 5540 Propulsion Systems, and MAE 6530, Advanced Propulsion Concepts), and instructs a section of the capstone senior design course (MAE 4800, 4810). His senior design teams have won the NASA-sponsored University Student Launch Initiative (USLI) Competition at Huntsville, AL, four times (2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012). Previously Dr. Whitmore instructed the junior level Instrumentation and measurements class (MAE 3340). Prior to his USU service Dr. Whitmore instructed courses in Space Systems (SS3011), and Astrodynamics (AE 4362), at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.

Research Interests

Since coming to USU, Dr. Whitmore has procured more than $2 million in research funding. His funding sources have included NASA, DoD, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC), the Utah Governor’s Economic Development Council (GOED), the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative, and Private Industry. Dr. Whitmore has published over 150 technical monographs including peer-reviewed journal articles, NASA-technical papers and technical memoranda, book chapters, and technical papers published in conference proceedings. He has been awarded 4 patents with 7 patent applications pending. *********************************************** GREEN PROPELLANTS .... ************************************************ Dr. Whitmore's current research focus is directed towards developing less hazardous, environmentally-friendly "green" propellant replacements for hydrazine. His research team recently developed a novel micro-hybrid gas generator that uses inexpensive and environmentally additively-printed thermoplastics as propellants. This alternative propellant technology derives from the electrical breakdown properties of certain 3-D printed thermoplastics like Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and High-Impact-Polystyrene (HIPS). These properties were discovered serendipitously while investigating the thermodynamic performance of ABS as a hybrid rocket fuel. When an electrostatic potential is placed across electrodes embedded into the 3-D printed material, charges flow from the energized electrode causing a localized electrostatic breakdown of the fuel material. This breakdown allows the charges to carve a path through the material. The resulting arc-track completes the circuit path to return electrode. Current flowing through the material causes Joule heating and pyrolyzes some of the material hydrocarbons. Ignition of the pyrolized fuel vapors occurs as soon as oxidizer flow is initiated. The arc-ignition concept has been engineered into a power-efficient system that can be started, stopped, and restarted with a high degree of reliability. On demand ignition has been demonstrated using compressed air, nitrous oxide (N2O), gaseous oxygen, and hydrogen peroxide as oxidizers. The arc ignition process is extremely energy efficient, requiring as little as 10 W for less than one second. Typical ignition energies are less than 10 Joules. The arc-ignition system has been demonstrated across a wide range ambient pressures including vacuum conditions. Recently, a small prototype system that burned ABS in enriched air (40% O2), was spaceflight tested at 170 km altitude. The payload was launched aboard a terrier Malemute launch vehicle from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility. The system successfully performed multiple restarts under hard-vacuum spaceflight conditions. Additive manufacturing is an essential feature of this technology. Multiple vendors using well-developed commercial technologies can produce identical pieces simultaneously, resulting in a "virtual assembly line." This approach is ideal for supporting the small-to-intermediate volume production rates required for most Aerospace applications, and offers potential of improving component quality, consistency, and performance, while reducing development and production costs. Dr. Whitmore and his team have recently received two key patents that are key to commercialization of this potentially market-disruptive technology. ******************************************************* FLUSH AIRDATA SENSING SYSTEM .... ****************************************************** Dr. Whitmore has also lead up the development of the new Flush Air Data System, known as FADS for the Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser Reentry Vehicle. Dream Chaser is a multi-use spacecraft designed to glide back to Earth after re-entry, similar to the unpowered landings of the now-retired space shuttle. USU's role has been focused on algorithm development, sensor configuration optimization, sensor communication, aerodynamic calibration, redundancy management, systems verification & validation and flight test data analysis. Members of the USU team recently traveled to Edwards Air Force Base to support both the captive carry and free-flight tests at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center. Accurate air speed information is critical for Dream Chaser to glide through the atmosphere on its approach to the runway. FADS generates air speed data using multiple flush-mounted sensors located on the nose of the spacecraft. By comparing air pressure values at multiple points, the autonomous Dream Chaser can calculate its air speed and adjust its flight path. The FADS represents an important milestone in reusable spacecraft design. The system eliminates the need for conventional air-data probes that extend from the side of a spacecraft. The probes used on the space shuttle, for example, were susceptible to the extreme temperatures of re-entry and were deployed only after the hottest phases of flight. On Nov. 11, SNC and NASA engineers tested the FADS by hoisting Dream Chaser 12,000 feet into the air via a Chinook helicopter and then cutting it loose, letting the vehicle fly unpowered, gliding toward Edwards Air Force Base where it gently touched down on runway 22-left. The successful free-flight test confirmed Dream Chaser’s FADS system worked correctly.

Awards

NASA MSFC Summer Faculty Research Fellowship, 2018

NASA

Researcher of the Year, 2017

USU MAE Department

NASA MSFC Summer Facuty Fellow Appointment, 2016

NASA Marshall SpaceFlight Center

Researcher of the Year, 2016

USU MAE Department

NASA MSFC Summer Facuty Fellow Appointment, 2015

NASA Marshall SpaceFlight Center

Best Technical Paper, 2012

Hybrid and Solid Propellant Technical Sessions

Winning Team, Faculty Mentor to Student Design Team NASA/ATK University Student Launch Initiative 2012, 2012

NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center

Winning Team, Faculty Mentor to Student Design Team NASA/ATK University Student Launch Initiative 2011 , 2011

NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center

Best Technical Paper, 2010

Ground Test Sessions, 43rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

Utah Engineering Educator of the Year , 2009

Utah Engineering Council, Governor's Economic Council

Winning Team, Faculty Mentor to Student Design Team , 2009

NASA/ATK University Student Launch Initiative

Utah Aerospace Engineering Educator of the Year , 2008

Utah Section, AIAA

Winning Team, Faculty Mentor to Student Design Team, 2008

NASA/ATK University Student Launch Initiative

Associate Fellow Appointment , 2000

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

NASA Headquarters Achievement Award - Engineering Achievement Medal , 1997

NASA

NASA DFRC Honor Award - Outstanding Paper for Year 1996, 1996

NASA

NASA DFRC Honor Award - Outstanding Scientist for Year 1993, 1994

NASA

Excellence in Technical Presentation Award, Aerotech '91, 1991

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

NASA ARC Honor Award - Outstanding Scientist for Year 1989, 1990

NASA

NASA Headquarters Honor Award - Group Engineering Achievement Award , 1984

NASA Headquarters