Michael Swartwout

Michael Swartwout serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Saint Louis University's School of Science and Engineering. He joined SLU in 2009 after nine years at Washington University in Saint Louis, where he contributed to student-built space missions including Sapphire (launched 2001).

His educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University
• M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Swartwout's research centers on space systems innovation, particularly low-cost spacecraft development where universities leverage high risk tolerance to disrupt the space industry. His work on CubeSats examines why certain technologies succeed while others fail, with focus areas including space situational awareness (detecting nearby spacecraft), space mission history, logistics, and breaking the "cost and risk death spiral" through affordable, high-volume missions that permit failure as a learning tool. The Space Systems Research Laboratory under his co-direction drives fundamental research in nano/pico spacecraft, SSA, spacecraft technologies, and mission failure analysis.

His 15 most recent publications (2018-2025) reveal strong trends in CubeSat evolution from niche to mainstream applications, with growing emphasis on mission assurance, autonomous constellations, and space situational awareness. Recent works analyze statistical trends in university-class spacecraft success rates while exploring emerging frontiers like in-space assembly and optical communications.

Honors include:

• Senior Member of AIAA
• Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
• KEEN iFaculty fellow

As co-director of SLU's Space Systems Research Laboratory, Swartwout trains students in full spacecraft design lifecycles through missions like SLU-01/COPPER (2013), SLU-02/Argus (2014), and SLU-03/Rascal (2015). He serves as SLU's representative to the Missouri Space Grant Consortium and teaches courses in spacecraft integration, systems engineering, and space mission failures. His grant-funded work focuses on radiation effects modeling, proximity operations, and university spacecraft program sustainability.

The Space Systems Research Laboratory provides hands-on facilities for spacecraft design, fabrication, testing, and operation, with current projects advancing deployable boom technologies, radiation-hardened electronics, and multi-vehicle proximity operations for space situational awareness.