Monthly Archives: November 2014


Orion FRR is a model you can use

Good news for the NASA Orion deep space crew vehicle!  The public learned that the Flight Readiness Review was successfully completed with the team led by Lockheed Martin. http://www.universetoday.com/116400/orion-passes-key-nasa-flight-review-go-for-maiden-test-flight-on-dec-4/ What does this mean and how could it help you become a rocket scientist?  Great questions!  Here now is (hopefully) a great answer. In large and […]


Why you want to co-op

Some high school and college students have internal debates (or opposing viewpoints from family, friends, and teachers) about whether they should co-op or not while in college.  Internships are limited to summers-only so those are rarely debated as questsionable value.  But with co-ops, some or all of the work sessions will be during the normal […]


More great stories from the CORE4 STEM Expo

This week featured the 5th annual CORE4 STEM Expo in San Antonio, Texas, organized by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  CORE4 refers to the 4 subjects that make up STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). One of the keynote speakers for the Latino day was Robert Trevino.  He grew up in a barrio of San […]


A rocket scientist comedian? Yes, actually a comedienne!

This week I had the pleasure and privilege of talking with kids from across San Antonio at the 5th annual CORE4 STEM Expo, organized and hosted by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  Saturday was a family day.  Tuesday (yesterday) was Latina day, when approximately 2,000 girls from predominantly Hispanic schools went to a city Expo […]


Houston, we have a wardrobe problem

It isn’t easy to communicate with a spacecraft sitting on a comet half a billion miles away from Earth. Meanwhile, back on Earth, we have some interpersonal communication issues that created a lively discussion around the ESA Rosetta project. Dr. Matt Taylor has caused a big stir with his colorful shirt with half-naked women: http://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/comet-landing-scientist-shirt […]


How can you land on a comet ?!

The short answer is: rocket science!!  Of course…but how really?  First, let’s congratulate and recognize the ESA (European Space Agency) who sent the Rosetta spacecraft with the Philae lander onto Comet 67P/C-G.  A truly awesome and historic accomplishment!!!  Hurray for another epic, cosmic score for rocket science! http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta_overview It takes an entire multi-disciplinary team to […]


NASA Ames is more like Google Ames

Tip #2 in “How To Be a Rocket Scientist” is to expand your concept of rocket science.  The old and popular players (like NASA) are still out there.  But there are MANY MANY other companies and institutions that play innovative, critical, and interesting roles in the aerospace world.  They may be small, specialized niche-serving companies.  […]


Long list of aerospace scholarships from US News

Carissa Chang Cress with US News & World Report published this great article on November 6, 2014 that is fully loaded with scholarship options and resources for people seeking aerospace degrees and careers.  A smart rocket scientist always looks for ways to move ahead with less drag and additional thrust (being more efficient in the […]


Is this a good time? 1

If you are someone considering a career in aerospace, you may have people telling you it’s not a good time for it.  You might be telling yourself this too.  A bad recession, layoffs in the defense industry, some major accidents… Yes, these are real and unfortunate.  Times are tough in many ways.  A lot like […]


Are we kidding ourselves?

At the same time I’m launching this website, the aerospace world had two major, public setbacks.  First was the explosion of the Orbital Science Antares rocket on October 28, 2014.  Then three days later, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo crashed, sadly killing the co-pilot Michael Alsbury and seriously injuring the pilot Peter Siebold.  My thoughts of sympathy […]