PSP Liquids - Structures

For over a year, I was Vehicle Structures Lead of Purdue Space Program’s liquid rocket team. We are currently launching a 850 lbf Ethanol/LOx rocket targeting 40,000 ft: Crater-Maker Special (CMS), in Spring 2024.

In spring/summer 2022 we launched our previous vehicle, BZB, three times reaching 11,000 ft. My work focused on integration and testing of the recovery system, and machining flight hardware.

Before becoming structures lead on CMS, I developed a program to calculate vehicle’s bending load profile due to aerodynamic and inertial loads and led exploration of composite manufacturing techniques and destructive testing campaign for a structural carbon fiber airframe.

Additionally, as Fin Can Responsible Engineer, I drove system and component design of lower airframe’s strut structure, fin attachment/alignment, and plumbing access, and optimized airframe struts for mass considering failure in bending, lateral buckling, and torsional buckling.

As Structures lead, where I managed a team of 35 students and directed the design-test-manufacture process. This position pushed me to focus on the integration of our structural systems with fluids, propulsion, and avionics, as well as mentor new members on design, analysis, and manufacturing techniques.

I’ve also been leading machining of structures and fluids flight hardware and testing components since the end of the design phase.