MSU Space Science programs expand reach and student opportunities
Morehead State University has become a household name at NASA in the last decade. The space science program continues to contribute to NASA and commercial space missions and prepare students for tomorrow's aerospace jobs.
The Space Science Center is expanding opportunities for faculty, staff, and students. MSU recently received a $10 million NASA contract to upgrade the 21-meter antenna (NASA Deep Space Station-17) and the 12-meter high-frequency antennas to improve their capabilities. DSS-17 was the first non-NASA node on NASA's Deep Space Network.
Specifically, the upgrade for DSS-17 will allow MSU to meet a new set of requirements NASA has issued for lunar mission support called LEGS (Lunar Exploration Ground Stations). This will allow organizations to provide lunar tracking services through a new network NASA is developing called Near Space Network Services (NSNS). NSNS will service NASA and commercial missions on the Moon and out to two million kilometers (about 1,242,742 miles).
LEGS requires operation at three frequencies simultaneously, with extremely high-power transmission and extreme sensitivity on the receiving end. Becoming LEGS compliant and being able to provide services for NASA's NSNS will create tremendous opportunities for students.
Also, MSU is preparing to install a third satellite tracking antenna, providing additional training and research opportunities for students studying space systems engineering. The new antenna, a 13-meter satellite tracking station, will complement the existing 21-meter and 12-meter antennas. The goal is to arrange the three antennas in a deep space phased array to support future government-funded and commercial space programs.
"It enables us to further enhance our research and technological capabilities, allowing our students and faculty to participate in groundbreaking projects that contribute directly to the future of space exploration," said Dr. Ben Malphrus, executive director of the MSU Space Science Center.
Morehead State's space science programs have contributed to newsworthy space missions over the last several years.
In 2022, NASA launched Artemis I, the most powerful rocket ever built. As a secondary payload, it deployed MSU's Lunar IceCube, a nanosat designed, constructed, and tested by more than 50 Morehead State students, faculty and staff at MSU's Space Science Center.
The University contributed to the success of Intuitive Machines' IM-1 mission, which carried the Odysseus Nova-C lunar lander (nicknamed Odie) to the Moon's south pole region in February 2024. Odie experienced a challenge, landing on the Moon's surface sideways on a tilt. MSU was a mission operation "command bridge" between Intuitive Machines' Nova Control and NASA's Deep Space Network as a key provider of tracking and communication services.
In 2025, MSU's Space Science Center once again supported Intuitive Machines' lunar exploration efforts, serving as one of the key tracking stations for the IM-2 Athena mission, which landed near the Moon's south pole.
In addition to offering a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering, MSU will soon offer a Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.) in systems engineering. This applied research-focused program with two focus areas reflects the University's ongoing commitment to innovation and the region's growing need for highly trained engineers.
Chloe Hart (Class of 2020, 2024), originally from Ashland, is the lead ground operator/engineer at Morehead State. She says aerospace is Kentucky's number one export and sees the combination of MSU's growing reputation as an impactful contributor to space exploration and the real-world education students receive as a way to fill a growing need.
"More and more jobs are coming to Kentucky and to the Appalachian area, and we are able to produce the workforce required for those jobs," Hart said. "That's a really important thing for the Space Science Center. That's always been our main goal is providing students with the education to take on these really high-tech jobs and be leaders in the field."
For more information, contact Space Science Center Executive Director Dr. Benjamin Malphrus at b.malphrus@moreheadstate.edu or 606-783-2212.
You can also contact the MSU Space Science Center at ssc@moreheadstate.edu or 606-783-2224.
