David Lawrence, director of Mississippi State's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, shows off the facility's Baron autoclave. Some 55 feet long and 10 feet wide, the autoclave is used to cure composite building materials before they are used in in the construction of aircraft bodies on site. The largest of three autoclaves at Raspet, the huge cylinder works like a giant pressure cooker, reaching temperatures up to 850 degrees Fahrenheit and exerting pressure up to 300 pounds per square inch. The MSU lab currently is engaged in a $3 million project to help design a new-generation unmanned aerial vehicle that could strengthen U.S. battlefield surveillance capabilities.