Space industry taking giant leaps in St. George to host rare meet-up with active astronaut

Written by Jessi Bang
September 22, 2022

ST. GEORGE —Active astronaut Megan McArthur is coming to St. George Monday to speak about her recent six-month space mission with a free event that’s set to launch from Tech Ridge.

Intergalactic CEO Brian McCann and Gregg Robison, CEO of RAM Aviation Space & Defense stand together, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Intergalactic CEO Brian McCann and Gregg Robison, CEO of RAM Aviation Space & Defense stand together, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Gregg Robison, CEO of  St. George-based RAM Aviation Space & Defense, said the company has been working on the event for about a year. 

“NASA gets thousands of requests every year for an active astronaut to speak,” Robison said. “The NASA administrator we worked with said you can probably count on two hands how many times they send an astronaut out to the community like this, so this is rare.”

The Monday night astronaut event will take place at Dixie Tech’s auditorium at Tech Ridge. Speakers will include Robison and Brian McCann, CEO of local aerospace systems integrator Intergalactic. But McArthur is the main event.

Robison said a RAM Aviation Space and Defense valve was placed on the SpaceX Crew-2 Dragon capsule spacecraft, called Endeavour, in April of last year. McArthur was one of four astronauts that was transported on Endeavour from Earth to the International Space Station. The spacecraft docked and returned back to earth six months later.

McArthur is a veteran of two space missions — STS-125 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2009 and Expedition 66 aboard the space station last year and remains on NASA’s active roster.

Astronaut Megan McArthur, STS-125 mission specialist, looks through an overhead window on the aft flight deck of Space Shuttle Atlantis, May 16, 2009 | Photo courtesy NASA, St. George News

Once they got the approval from NASA, Robison said they reached out to SpaceX, which agreed to participate in non-public and non-media attended events. These events include a RAM and Intergalactic employee-only event and a speaking event at Crimson Cliffs High School in Washington City on Monday. The speaker for SpaceX will speak about projects they’re currently working on, such as the Dragon, along with their future space exploration endeavors and aspirations.

McCann, a former Vice President of Sales at RAM, is responsible for winning the SpaceX accounts for RAM, which led to RAM providing 32 propulsion control valves for Dragon that control its trajectory as it docks at the International Spacestation.

“You have this space station traveling 10,000 miles an hour and a spacecraft traveling at 10,000 miles an hour, and our valves control the trajectory to ensure the alignment is within fractions, thousands of an inch,” Robison said. “So when it docks, it’s exactly where it needs to be for a tight seal, enabling the astronauts to transfer from the spacecraft to the space station. The precision on these valves is incredibly intense.”

The RAM manufacturing facility floor is shown, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
The RAM manufacturing facility floor is shown, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Prior to the valve design, McCann said the space station’s mechanical arm would have to grab previous versions of the Dragon to bring it in. Instead, RAM’s designs are built to “auto-dock” and work with both manned and unmanned aircraft, such as flights that sends cargo to the space station between missions.

“Our products create a type of autopilot,” McCann said. “The astronauts don’t really have to do much. They just kind of push the button and let it do its thing. It’s pretty cool.”

McCann said he was involved with RAM since he was 13. He is now the president and CEO of Intergalactic – a startup company also located in the RAM building. When he saw Intergalactic’s developing technology on paper and the market applicability, a decision was made to invest, then take over the company.

A part manufactured and tested at the RAM facility is shown, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
A part manufactured and tested at the RAM facility is shown, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Intergalactic provides advanced thermal management systems, which McCann said are a necessary component due to the amount of heat the new platforms generate. When small components are placed in small spaces, systems are unable to deal with the heat generated. Working like computers with built-in fans, McCann said the Intergalactic system manages heat 300 to 400% more efficiently than anything else on the market. For more information on Intergalactic, click here. 

Robison said Interglactic’s thermal systems are set to be on a lunar rover on the Moon that is planned to go up as part of NASA’s Artemis program. The components from both Intergalactic and RAM must be built to withstand extreme temperature changes, ranging from negative 300 degrees when it’s dark on the moon to 300-400 degrees Fahrenheit when it’s light.

“I think it’s really important for the community to know that this next-gen space is emerging,” McCann said. “This sector of the economy that most people don’t know is so big. This is the next trillion-dollar industry. It’s been labeled the largest emerging industry since the internet by Wall Street. It’s a huge massive commercial space with a lot of economic opportunities and most people don’t know that a lot of it is happening in St George.”

Aviation decor is seen inside the RAM lobby, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Aviation decor is seen inside the RAM lobby, St. George, Utah, Sept. 20, 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

With only a few companies in the world that do what both RAM and Intergalactic do, McCann said they’re bringing world-class engineering into St. George. The companies have a combined goal to inspire kids into technical careers and generally have 10 engineering interns from Utah Tech at any given time. They are also launching an apprenticeship program for computer numerical control (CNC) machining, which will allow kids to be in school half the day and spend the other half operating technical equipment — an opportunity that will increase future compensation opportunities for students.

“Everybody knows Silicon Valley is exciting,” McCann said. “We think this is more exciting. We’re actually building stuff that pushes the human race forward. It’s deep space travel. Our parts are going deeper and deeper into space and it’s really cool it’s happening here in St. George.”

RAM Aviation, Space & Defence first began in a garage in Bloomington 47 years ago by Ray and Melzie Ganowski, whose names formed the basis of the company’s name. They manufactured parts for an industrial manufacturing company. Over time, they grew into a 1,000-square-foot facility on St. George Boulevard, then into a larger facility. In 1990, they transitioned into their current location on Deseret Drive, which went from an initial 20,000 square foot facility to 150,000. RAM provides critical components for military aircraft, commercial aircraft and spacecraft. For more information on RAM Aviation, Space & Defense, click here.

Event details

  • What: NASA Astronaut Megan McArthur
  • When: Monday, September 26, 6-7:30 p.m.
  • Where: Dixie Tech College Auditorium, 610 Tech Ridge Drive in St. George
  • Admission: Free
  • For more information see the LinkedIn event page.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessi Bang was born and raised in Utah and has a passion for nature and the great outdoors. She graduated from Kaplan University in California with a degree in criminal justice. She has extensive experience in marketing, content creation, photography and copywriting. You can find her showcasing outdoor adventures through her blog, “The Rambling Raccoon.” In her free time, she enjoys climbing mountains, trail running, working out and cuddling her two lovable pups.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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