Space Environments Test Branch
Ten weeks on thermal-vacuum facility electrical systems — drawing the control schematics that let a panel be wired and troubleshot, putting the branch's ventilation maintenance on a runtime-driven schedule, and qualifying to run gauge calibration independently.
Role
Role
Electrical Test Engineer Intern
Facility
Thermal-vacuum test chambers, electric propulsion support
Term
Summer 2026
Tools
AutoCAD Electrical, PLCs, vacuum gauges & pumps
Xenon recovery cart
- Produced a complete control schematic for the cart used in electric propulsion testing — start/stop latching circuit, control relay, solenoid valve and pressure-switch interlocks off 120 VAC
- Standardized every device tag to TS/PB/CR/SOL convention with full terminal mapping, so the sheet can actually be used to wire and troubleshoot the panel
- Delivered as a build package — title block, revision table and BOM — with extraneous views stripped so it stays focused on power and control
Preventive maintenance program
- Built a ventilation controls PM plan covering every TC010M and TC010MA turbopump controller in the branch
- Intervals driven by controller hour-meter runtime — 24-hour airflow checks through 2,000-hour fan replacement and 40k/80k/120k-hour overhaul alarms
- Replaced ad-hoc record keeping with a unified checklist and log
Gauge cart operations
- Qualified as a gauge cart operator and executed calibration test runs independently
- Documented results and status for each unit, clearing the branch's outstanding backlog
- Hands-on with roughing pumps, high-vacuum pumps, gauge types and the PLCs tying them together
What the summer actually taught me
- Tools are application layers — the engineer solves the problem; AutoCAD and the PLC are where the answer gets written down
- Technical strength with weak communication is capped impact
- Work upward from the simplest solution; a lot of facility problems end there
Recognized with an Outstanding Summer 2026 Internship award from the NASA Glenn Office of STEM Engagement.