Networking in the Satellite Community
| Name | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| Ali Ali | 2007 |
| Veronica Arocho | 2006 |
| Dante Buckley | 2005-present |
| Tom Cowan | 2005 |
| Jeffrey Crosby | 2005 |
| Andres Gonzalez-Ariza | 2006 |
| Bryan Jackson | 2007-present |
| Irena Li | 2005-2006 |
| Shawn Miller | 2007-present |
| Josh Munoz | 2008-present |
| Nick Martinson | 2008-present |
| Scott Payne | 2007 |
| Doug Pittard | 2005 |
| Alejandro Raudez | 2007 |
| Jeremy Sanford | 2006 |
| Sal Torre | 2008 |
| David Wang | 2007 |
| Andrew Wright | 2007 |
| James Van Pelt | 2005 |
| Name | Degree(s) | Company | Location | Title | Project | Contact Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Cowan | BS Aerospace Engineering | Northrop Grumman Space Technology | Redondo Beach, CA | Mechanical Engineer | James Webb Space Telescope | Tom Cowan |
| James Van Pelt | BS Mech/Aerospace Engineering 2005 MS Aerospace Engineering 2006 | Lockheed Martin | New Orleans, LA | Composites Material Engineer | Crew Exploration Vehicle | James Van Pelt |
| Jeff Crosby | BS Aerospace Engineering 2006 | Peace Corps | Accra, Ghana | Mathematics Teacher | Jeff Crosby | |
| Irena Li | BS Aerospace Engineering | Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton, FL | Graduate Research Assistant | Secure Telecommunications Group | Irena Li |
| Jonathan Gaebler | BS Aerospace Engineering | North Carolina State University | Hampton, VA | Jonathan Gaebler | ||
| Scott Payne | PhD Aerospace Engineering | Scott Payne |
Internships/Industry Experiences
Company: Microcosm Inc.
Location: Hawthorne, CA
Position: Systems Engineering Intern
Comments: "I obtained this internship through a connection that was made while working on SSDC's Inflate-A-Brake (G-SAT). Microcosm was helpful in providing analytical tools to do orbital lifetime predictions, and the following summer I was working for them in a range of capacities: mechanical design for optic sensors, orbital mechanics studies of close constellations, magnetorquer characterization for attitude control, and inter-planetary mission analysis (delta-V budgets). Being a small company (30-40 employees at the time), I had more breadth than depth with my tasks, and I'd recommend a small company for anyone unsure of which area of aerospace engineering (or any field) in which they want to specialize. If you want to dig a little deeper in a specific area, I'd recommend a large company. Microcosm is in the suburbs of Los Angeles, and the area is a hotbed of aerospace companies (Northrop, Lockheed, Boeing, Raytheon, etc), so besides the beautiful weather and beaches, there is plenty of opportunity to set up interviews, network, etc. Feel free to email me if interested in Northrop Grumman (http://www.st.northropgrumman.com) or for general inquiries in getting an internship/job."
-Tom Cowan
Company: Digital Infrared Imaging
Location: Apopka, Florida
Position: Engineering Internship
Comments:"I interned as an engineer with a small but unique company in Apopka, Florida called Digital Infrared Imaging (DI for short). DI was my first experience in industry and I will never forget them. The company has undergone some transition and is now known as ICX Imaging Systems (www.thermalsecurity.com).Though their company didnŐt have any aerospace research for me to conduct, I received a thorough introduction to Electrical Engineering which is fundamental in satellite systems. I worked on several projects with senior engineers ranging from conducting EMI interference tests, researching CMOS technology, and overseeing code for various experiments. But I also was able to get a hands on experience from everyone learning how each member contributed. I was quite impressed with their productions, engineering, sales, IT and other divisions. As a result of my internship, I proposed an Integrated Product and Process Design (IPPD) project with them. I managed the S.P.I.S (Self-Contained Portable Infrared System) team- a tandem of five mechanical, electrical and computer science engineers. The final design report included a functioning prototype of an handheld infrared and visible imaging device."
-Dante Buckley
Company: IBM, Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Location: Yorktown Heights, NY
Position: Systems Modeling and Integration Intern
Comments: "This internship was a really good introduction to research in a corporate/industrial (rather than academic) setting, though not specifically related to space systems. My main focus was investigating airflow and heat dissipation through fin arrays (in other words, heat sink design) using a number of finite element modeling/analysis tools, and building experimental scale models. Most of the internships offered at Watson are targeted at graduate students, but generally they try to align the work with a particular person's interests - it's a lot like grad school research in that aspect. "
-Irena Li
Company: NASA Goodard Space Flight Center
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Position: Research Assistant
Comments: "Working at NASA was an incredible experience and a dream come true. Working at the same facilities where the Hubble Space Telescope and so many other planetary probes were built was awe inspiring. There literally hundreds of project going on at any one time, all contributing to the development of science and space exploration. I in particular worked at the Geostationary Environmental Operational Satellite (GOES) office, specifically with the GOES-N/13 satellite, which was launched less than a year before the internship. This satellite had been placed on a "storage" orbit for later use, when one of the two other weather satellites in the constellation breaks down. My job, along with another intern from France was to be able to obtain useful data gathered by certain instruments on GOES-N/13 that were turned on for brief moments through the year. The orbit mechanics of a satellite in storage are slightly different than in operational mode, therefore multiple corrections needed to be applied to the telemetry and different theories needed to be tested as possible explanations for certain behaviors in the data. The reason behind this effort is to have a software suite that will make all necessary data corrections for a satellite in "storage" orbit, so that in case of an environmental emergency a particular instrument could be turned on in an instant and get a third verification, making predictions more accurate. The instruments the intern team focused on, were the Dual-Magnetometer and Space Environment Monitor. The final customer of this data is NOAA, with whom a permanent line of communication was created to solve most of the problems.
While dealing with all these issues I was able to speak to all kinds people all related to the space industry but not all engineers or scientists, however all had a passion about space and actively did their part to continue our quest to the stars. I visited incredible places such as NOAA's Satellite Operations Control Center (SOCC) and saw what it takes to operate dozens of satellites. I also visited NOAA's Space Environment Center in Boulder Colorado, where all the space "weather" forecasting is made and warnings issued for the entire world. These experiences opened my eyes tremendously, letting me know that there is more to space than just aerospace and everybody in this sector plays a crucial role in our development as a space fairing civilization; we as students, just need to find what that role is."
-Rodrigo Ocampo
Company: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Position:Flight Dynamics Analysis Intern
Comments: "This was my first real experience in the area. Goddard Space Flight Center is the largest community of engineers and scientists dedicated to learn more about our planet, the Solar System and the Universe. Working at the Flight Dynamics Analysis Branch (Guidance, Navigation and Control Division), learning from the many engineers and scientists, and being exposed to the technology and the great environment at Goddard was quite an amazing opportunity. I had the chance to work on two different projects, under two different mentors, the first of which gave me a chance to learn the basics in orbital mechanics. I worked on frozen orbit analysis for Earth Observing-1 (EO-1), a sun-synchronous satellite which developed and validated new instruments and technologies. Previously recorded GPS data was given to me for analysis, and I had an opportunity to learn about the classical orbital elements and how satellites truly behave under the different gravitational effects due to the Earth's oblateness, the Moon and the Sun. By creating different plots with this data I was able to identify different stages in the mission, from start to finish, including all the maneuvers done for orbit maintenance.
The second project gave me the chance to look at how interplanetary missions are planned. I was to do post-Saturn orbit insertion maneuvering analysis on a flagship mission to Enceladus, one of Saturn's many moons. The project was quite simple: to make small changes in different parameters on an already determined orbit. Then, these small errors have to be fixed by a correction maneuver (orbit trim maneuver) and my job was to determine when it is best to make this correction. This small project helped refine the already existing delta-V budget for the mission.
Working for NASA on this internship made it clear on what I want to do and helped me determine my goals for the future."
-Eduardo Villalba
Company: Reynolds, Smith, and Hills Inc.
Location: Merritt Island, FL
Position: Engineering Intern
Comments:"I worked for six months with an A&E firm (Architectural and Engineering firm) Reynolds, Smith, and Hill Inc. (RS&H). This was my first real experience in what an A&E firm actually does and more specifically how mechanical engineers are involved. I worked for the Aerospace and Defense office in Merritt Island, FL right next door to Kennedy Space Center. RS&H designed most of the facilities at KSC, from the well known Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), to the launchpads the shuttle lifts off from. I worked on several projects, the big one in the office being the new mobile launch tower for NASA's Constellation program. I worked mostly on mechanical systems such as HVAC and fire protection systems for the launch tower. I also worked on another project designing a hydraulic steering system for a 'rocket cart' to move a rocket on. I enjoyed my experience with RS&H as it gave me a clearer picture of what I wanted to do for a career in mechanical engineering."
-Thomas P Vu
Company: NASA Kenndy Space Center
Location: Cape Canaveral, Florida
Position: Ground Systems Division Spacecraft processing Office
Comments: In the summer of 2006, I was chosen to be a Florida Space Academy participant at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida funded by Space Florida and the Florida Space Grant Consortium. In the summer of 2007, I was an intern for Mary D. Hall and John Leavitt, project managers of the Constellation Project in the Ground Systems Division Spacecraft Processing Office at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Their office manages mission planning for Ares launch vehicles and Orion Crew Vehicles processing functions for the Constellation project, which aims to land humans on the moon and Mars in hopes of one day establishing settlements there. She worked on a Spacecraft Processing Document Library and Document Tree using the NASA-specific ICE and WindChill web-centric environments. I've also presented a presentation titled, "Document Standardization, WindChill Update, and Orion Schedule and Documents," to my project management team of about 50 engineers at their annual offsite meeting.
At KSC, I also did many other projects in the past two summers. I published articles on the Applied Physics Laboratory at KSC for NASA and external technical journals under another mentor, Stan Starr. Participating in the NASA Florida Space Academy (FSA) program, she was on a team that designed, built, and launched a weather balloon payload which reached 100,000 ft in the atmosphere and transmitted real-time video. While at KSC, I also wrote for Spaceport News, and NASA's Academy Sharing Knowledge (ASK) magazine. I'm also a freelance technical writer. I write for technology features for the UK-based technology magazine, the Institution of Engineering and Technology. The magazine has a demographic of 150,000 engineers and other technical members in 37 countries.
I'm a freelance consultant for Space Florida's directors, Tony Gannon and Pat McCarthy and FSGC's director, Dr. Jaydeep Mukherjee. She has written about my internship experiences for press releases, and presented at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Campaign Conference in Cocoa, Florida, and at the FSGC meeting at the University of North Florida as part of her work.
-Svetlana Shkolyar