I performed composite analysis in order to qualify the falcon fairing composite doors for reuse over 10+ flights. I used FEMAP to simulate a flaw in the doors’ layup and to design a qualification testing plan using a pressurized chamber. Based on the dynamic loads that the doors see during flight and recovery, the pressure on the door was cycled to replicate the lifetime of the component. The results of this testing will allow cost savings over the repeated flights that the doors will now be qualified for.

Previously, the reuse of the Falcon landing leg footpads has been conservative due to uncertainties with the ability of the plastic pads to withstand the required loads after being worn down. In order to qualify the footpads for reuse after significant wear, I tested a footpad on the surface of a droneship in Cape Canveral and then designed a testing rig to apply the landing load onto the worn footpad. The rig was designed in NX and analyzed in ANSYS in order to ensure that the rig would be strong enough to survive the thousands of pounds applied during testing.

As part of a surge of engineers working on the first orbital booster and ship, I helped design, analyze, and manufacture the avionics raceway and flight termination system covers. Working out of Starbase, I acted as the manufacturing engineer and coordinated with machine shops and design engineers in order to ensure the rapid and successful installation of the raceway and covers. I performed the preliminary analysis of the raceway covers using hand calculations and did the analysis for the FTS covers in ANSYS.