The Space Vehicle Technology (SVT) Institute is one of three University Institutes (UI) that have been established by NASA in order to develop emerging aerospace technologies by taking advantage of the unique opportunities and diversity that academic research centers offer. The programs in this project—University of Maryland College Park, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, University of Michigan, University of Washington and North Carolina A&T-- conduct primary research in the fields of launcher design and optimization, cost modeling, reliability engineering, combustion, diagnostics, optimal aerodynamics, inlets, trajectory and control. Since its inception, the SVTI has graduated numerous students with either MS or PhD degrees (some of which have gone onto prestigious jobs with companies such as Exxon-Mobil and Spectrum Astro), while faculty and students of the institute have presented and published a wide array of papers directly relating to the goals of the UI. Additionally, several programs in the SVTI have partnerships with, for example, NASA IVV, NASA ECS, Materials Inc., the Department of Defense and the DARPA Falcon project, and many also receive further external support from a variety of industry points.

The SVTI is currently organized by task and by Virtual Institute, which aligns the research done here with the two other NASA-funded UI’s, the Institute for Future Space Transport (IFST) and the Rocket Engine Advancement Program (REAP).