It’s one of the best-kept secrets in East Texas: NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility. Krist Swimberghe, dean of UT Tyler’s Soules College of Business, sheds light on the critical role this government facility plays and the groundbreaking research it conducts. Learn how it prepares high-altitude balloons for global launches from Sweden to Antarctica. Discover the economic ripple effect the facility has on the region, employing local residents and partnering with local businesses.
Businesses nationwide are plagued by labor shortages. In partnership with the UT Tyler Hibbs Institute for Business & Economic Research, Rice University and the UT Tyler Center for Retail Enterprises, Swimberghe provides a sneak peek into an Oct. 4 event - US Labor Shortage: A Perspective in East Texas - seeking to address this challenge. Panelists representing a wide range of industries will share their struggles in filling job vacancies and the innovative solutions they’ve found.
MIKE LANDESS: For UT Tyler Radio, I’m Mike Landess. The latest brief from the Hibbs Institute at UT Tyler’s Soules College of Business is out, and it features something I didn’t even realize existed in East Texas, a scientific balloon facility just outside of Palestine. Some call it the best kept secret in Texas. Here to talk about this latest report — and a fascinating story — is the dean of the UT Tyler [College] of Business, Dr. Krist Swimberghe. Welcome.
KRIST SWIMBERGHE: Thank you for having me.
LANDESS: That National Science Foundation facility was actually relocated to Palestine from Boulder, Colorado, back in the early ’60s.
SWIMBERGHE: In the early ’60s, and it was originally an NSF facility, but then in the ’80s, it really became a NASA facility, which is even more fascinating.
LANDESS: Now, NSF is National Science Foundation. And NASA is NASA.
SWIMBERGHE: Right.
LANDESS: Tell us about how that evolved. I know that they now call it the “Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility” to commemorate the Columbia Space Shuttle flight and crew. What kinds of things do they do there?
SWIMBERGHE: Well, what’s interesting. What many of us don’t know and don’t realize, is that, in addition to the rockets blasting off in oblivion and launching satellites in orbit and all of that-and obviously using that type of vehicle to launch instruments in space costs quite a bit of money-there’s this additional means that has been long used to transport scientific equipment, if you will, just below the areas of space.
LANDESS: We’re talking about high altitude balloons.
SWIMBERGHE: I believe 200,000 feet, if I’m not mistaken, or I mean we’re talking just below being in orbit, just below orbit, so really amazing. Now, one thing I want to make sure-the balloons, which is what we’re talking about, you know, it’s the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine. The balloons don’t get launched out of Palestine. The balloons get prepared to be launched, the payload gets prepared, that the balloon carries just to below outer space, and it gets tested. You know there is testing equipment in this facility that replicates the barometric circumstances, temperature that’s way up in space. But then the actual launch, personnel from that facility and from the participating organizations whose equipment is being launched using a balloon. Then they go to different places in the world and launch these balloons. And that ranges from Sweden, on the north, closest to the North Pole, to actually Antarctica. You have teams that go to Antarctica and literally launch these balloons that were prepared in Palestine, Texas. Payloads that were prepared in Palestine, Texas, get launched from Antarctica!
LANDESS: Now, the Antarctica event, as I understand it is one that’s coming up in December. That particular one is really, I guess, the longest mission’s been — normal is 22 days — the longest so far is 54. This one is 75 days.
SWIMBERGHE: Yes, and obviously I’m not a scientist, and a lot of this sounds like Latin to me. But because the location is where it is, and because where it is on Earth, that is the place where you launch missions from that carry the longest. And I guess, as I understand it, when you launch a balloon in Antarctica, literally this balloon gets at its altitude and just continues to go around Earth, I guess. And because it’s launched from Antarctica, that’s where you can have the longest periods of time, where equipment measures whatever it’s supposed to measure and where you can have the best observation and collect the most data of any other place on Earth.
LANDESS: Well, now, who or what organizations are the ones that contract with the balloon facility there to put these missions together?
SWIMBERGHE: Obviously, it’s NASA itself, but then all kinds of organizations, universities and other scientific organizations that do research.
LANDESS: Private companies as well?
SWIMBERGHE: Private companies, exactly. And so, in this case, when we were witnessing the payload that was being prepared for this December mission, that was a collaboration between the University of Arizona, between the Dutch Scientific Foundation, and so it was a multi-party collaboration that used this particular means of transportation to put their payload in, or just below orbit, and collect data. So, these are usually universities, scientific foundations, both domestic and international, that use it to collect data.
LANDESS: Now the Hibbs [Institute] with its Brief and its Report that comes out each month. These are always very popular with local businesses, local organizations in terms of understanding a variety of different issues, whether they are economic or social or whatever, in East Texas. Now, that’s a great service that’s served here, but this particular story about the balloon has been very popular, you were telling me.
SWIMBERGHE: Indeed, it’s oddly enough, and again, as you mentioned, the Hibbs puts on various publications, if you will, in the form of briefs and newsletters about many economic issues. Usually, but indeed, we typically, send each brief to a mailing list of about 7,000 people. And this particular brief, as it pertains to the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, has had the largest number of e-mail openings and being forwarded to others of all of the briefs. Curiously enough, I guess, stories still are appealing to people.
LANDESS: Well, in that particular one, I’d never heard of that organization.
SWIMBERGHE: Exactly. Exactly. So, I think it’s something that we need to take pride in-it being in East Texas. And again, obviously the Hibbs Institute doesn’t ignore its responsibility of highlighting also the economic impact that facilities like this have on our economy. The balloons are disposable, but it’s a local company in Sulphur Springs in northeast Texas that actually provides and manufactures these balloons. For instance, the helium with which the balloons get filled up, a contractor in Corsicana provides the helium. So, in addition to the almost 100 employees at a facility who are highly educated, quite a few of whom are UT Tyler graduates. So, yes, it’s a great story; it’s a great discovery, if you will, and an eye-opener for many of us, that we actually have a NASA facility in Palestine, Texas, but it also has an economic impact.
LANDESS: It certainly does. Let me change gears here for just a moment. I know that Hibbs is co-sponsoring an event Oct. 4 with Rice University and the Center for Retail Enterprises. You’ll be talking about labor market shortages. Tell us more about that.
SWIMBERGHE: We’ve all seen the signs on businesses where they seek help. I think labor shortages are not a thing of the past. They’re a current problem nationwide, but also especially here in East Texas.
LANDESS: What will this gathering accomplish, do you suppose?
SWIMBERGHE: Well, this gathering really brings together a couple of panelists, panelists representing a number of employers who have struggled in filling their vacancies. John Soules Foods Company is one of them. We have a representative of Darden Restaurants, restaurants such as Olive Garden. And obviously they will share with us not only what their issues have been with regard to recruiting labor, but also what some of the solutions are.
LANDESS: Our guest has been Dr. Krist Swimberghe, dean of UT Tyler Soules [College] of Business. To hear this interview again or to share it, go to KVUT.org. I’m Mike Landess for UT Tyler Radio.
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