SpaceX
Internship, Summer 2019
Internship, Summer 2019
I worked in Hawthorne, CA designing, analyzing, and building structures for SpaceX’s development Mars vehicle Starship.
My main project was bringing Starship’s access door arm mechanism to life. I designed the arm in NX and used ANSYS to iterate the design. Ultimately, the arm weighed 60% less than the door arm used on Starhopper. I gained more experience in mechanical design and welded subassemblies, as well as GD&T standards and producing engineering drawings.
I also developed several structural test fixtures and procedures. These provided design allowables for stiffeners and welds used on Starship, and qualification of secondary structures.
In the later part of the summer, I worked to keep the build of Starship prototypes in Cocoa, FL and Boca Chica, TX on schedule. I planned and executed integration operations for the door stiffeners on the vehicle in Florida, designing necessary tools and jigs to ensure we could progress quickly.
Below are some public pictures from online fan forums showing the structures on the vehicles in Boca Chica and Cocoa.
My main project was bringing Starship’s access door arm mechanism to life. I designed the arm in NX and used ANSYS to iterate the design. Ultimately, the arm weighed 60% less than the door arm used on Starhopper. I gained more experience in mechanical design and welded subassemblies, as well as GD&T standards and producing engineering drawings.
I also developed several structural test fixtures and procedures. These provided design allowables for stiffeners and welds used on Starship, and qualification of secondary structures.
In the later part of the summer, I worked to keep the build of Starship prototypes in Cocoa, FL and Boca Chica, TX on schedule. I planned and executed integration operations for the door stiffeners on the vehicle in Florida, designing necessary tools and jigs to ensure we could progress quickly.
Below are some public pictures from online fan forums showing the structures on the vehicles in Boca Chica and Cocoa.
To comply with ITAR regulations and NDAs, all Astranis, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and SpaceX pictures shown are available publicly online