01 Background

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., doing business as SpaceX, is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has since developed the Falcon launch vehicle family and the Dragon spacecraft family, which both currently deliver payloads into Earth orbit. [1]

I had the opportunity to join the Avionics Integration and Test team in SpaceX’s Headquarters in Hawthorne, California as an Avionics Systems Integration Intern. Our team of engineers at SpaceX was responsible for integrating the avionics bay with the rest of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket. I was challenged with designing harnesses for the first Falcon Heavy flight, integrating hardware for the recovery of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, and designing hardware to improve testing performance on the production floor.

02 Falcon Heavy Harnesses

We drew wiring harness schematics for the Falcon Heavy rocket. Specifically, I focused on the avionics hardware for recovery. The Falcon Heavy rockets are the first orbital-class rockets capable of reflight. We designed the harnesses that connect the landing legs and grid fins on the boosters and the center core for controlled recovery of the vehicles after launch.

03 Stage Separation Connectors

I built and tested a hardware-in-the-loop test rack used to simulate the Stage 1 and Stage 2 separation event during flight. This is a critical event during the mission, where Stage 1 (the booster) separates from the upper stage to begin its landing sequence. The upper stage ignites and continues its journey to orbit.

04 Printed Circuit Board Development

I created a data acquisition printed circuit board for a family of sensors on the vehicle. This board was designed to replace an existing solution with a more compact and cost-effective design.

05 Falcon Support Rack

I developed the onshore and offshore landing pad network and power architecture for post-mission vehicle operations. This included designing the support equipment needed to safe and process the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy vehicles after landing.

06 Simulators

I designed a payload separation simulator to validate flight computer electrical signal performance. This simulator was used to verify the proper operation of the separation system electronics before integration with the actual flight hardware.

References

Source [1]