Called a “one-stop shop” for research and testing by Maj. Gen. Jason Cothern of the Huntsville-based Missile Defense Agency, the new Auburn University Applied Research Laboratory features the nation’s first university-led space electronics testing facility.

Cothern made his remarks during Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting of the 50,000 square-foot facility in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park. He was joined by Auburn President Dr. Christopher Roberts; Dr. Steve Taylor, Auburn senior vice president for research and economic development; Michael DeMaioribus of the board of trustees; Dr. Joseph Jewell, assistant secretary of war for science and technology; U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville; U.S. Reps. Dale Strong, Robert Aderholt and Mike Rogers; and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.

“Our weapons systems have to work in all conditions,” said Cothern, the MDA’s deputy director. “That’s why this building and everything it houses is so important.”

With the institute’s other facility less than a mile away, the laboratory marks an expansion of Auburn’s footprint in Cummings Research Park. It also expands the university’s ability to support U.S. government and industry partners tackling complex national security and space exploration challenges.

“This is a momentous day for Auburn and for the security of our nation,” Taylor said. “Auburn’s work in Huntsville, particularly the radiation effects testing, will meet an urgent need for our Department of War partners.“

The facility will be home to Auburn students, faculty and 30-plus full-time research scientists working to solve critical challenges for the U.S. government and industry.

“This facility represents Auburn’s contribution to one of the nation’s most important places for defense, space and research,” said Roberts. “Auburn students will work side by side with engineers and researchers.

“The future is being built right here in Huntsville and Auburn is proud to be a part of it.”

The facility is a joint venture between Auburn University and the City of Huntsville’s Industrial Development Board.

“Mayor Battle stepped up to make this happen and for that we are forever grateful,” Taylor said.

“This facility is helping us put centers of excellence together,” said Battle. “We can bring the brightest here so we can do the best for the nation’s defense.”

The expansion is backed by a recent $11.4 million Department of Defense contract and will establish the nation’s only university-led radiation hardening test facility. Rad hardening is the process of ensuring the durability of microelectronics in the intense radiation environments of space.

At the center of the facility is a superconducting cyclotron that will enable researchers to replicate radiation environments encountered in near-Earth orbit and during solar particle events.

The testing allows engineers to evaluate how advanced microelectronics perform before they are used in mission-critical systems. Satellites, spacecraft, missile defense systems and launch vehicles all rely on electronics that must continue operating in environments where even a single radiation-induced failure can jeopardize an entire mission.

The facility’s primary mission is to support the Missile Defense Agency, with additional capacity available to other federal agencies, military services and commercial partners.

Testing operations are scheduled to begin in early 2027.

“To provide for a highly reliable defense of our nation and our armed forces, we need to test every microelectronic component for its performance in space,” said Cothern. “Going forward, we will have priority access to Auburn’s proton cyclotron facility to ensure timely radiation testing of the microelectronics our cutting-edge systems depend on.”

Reports from NASA, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the Office of the Secretary of War have identified a national shortfall in radiation effects testing capabilities. Backed by the MDA contract awarded in November 2024 and an additional $7.5 million added in July 2026, Auburn will help bridge this documented national readiness gap.

“We need research that moves at mission speed,” said Tuberville. “We’re going from concept to prototype to activation faster than ever before.

“We’re living in a dangerous world and this will make us safer every day.”

Auburn students, faculty and full-time research engineers and scientists will conduct research and build prototypes in the facility with partners that include the Missile Defense Agency, NASA, Space Development Agency, Air Force, Army Aviation and Missile Command, Army Research Laboratory, Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Space Command, Space Force, Special Operations Command and aerospace and defense industry.

“I’m proud to see Auburn take research to deployment,” said Strong (R-Huntsville), who helped secure $4 million for the project. “We are truly the center of gravity for research and development.

“We’re not just teaching the students about the problems, but giving them the ability to solve them right here, right now.”