tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53650318669259614212011-07-30T18:35:05.198-07:00The sentinel of commercial space exploration.EA Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15335524725345385995noreply@blogger.comBlogger21100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5365031866925961421.post-39237920220836478202010-10-14T13:09:00.000-07:002010-10-15T05:45:56.986-07:00Recently I finish a four-month internship with Excalibur Almaz. It was a great experience where I learned about engineering and design processes for working on commercial space projects. When I started my internship earlier this summer, I was very excited to have the opportunity to learn more about the Almaz spacecraft, which has a very interesting history. The reusable capsules have already flown into space more than once and Excalibur Almaz will be updating it for future space flights. This internship was a very unique opportunity for me to learn directly from aerospace leaders and experts to get a better sense of the commercial spaceflight industry.<br />The other interns and I were divided into groups and given broad, general guidelines for our projects; each group then made a schedule for the rest of the summer. My group’s primary project was to create a CAD (computer-aided design) model of the Almaz capsule, and then outfit a mock-up of the capsule (a constructed replica of the spacecraft) with models of the equipment that would be used during spaceflight. This allowed us to get a sense of how much space was available, and how items and equipment might be arranged inside the spacecraft.<br />I also had the opportunity to take several tours of other organizations, such as Ad Astra, where I was able to see the VASMIR rocket engine, as well as NASA to see the Orion displays and controls mock-up. These visits were a great way to see what other people in the field were doing. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this internship and learned a lot during my time with the company. This knowledge and experience will definitely prove useful as I begin graduate school and in my future endeavors.<br />If you have an questions about my internship experience, please feel free to comment.<br />- Phillip Gray<br />EA USA engineering intern<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5365031866925961421-3923792022083647820?l=excaliburalmazobserver.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>EA Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15335524725345385995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5365031866925961421.post-74493657239521117422010-06-01T10:03:00.000-07:002010-10-15T05:45:15.600-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6T0xW23F7as/TLhMQBgbtII/AAAAAAAAAP4/P-nyalqZebM/s1600/EA+Weekly+05.jpg"><img style="text-align: center;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 306px; " src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6T0xW23F7as/TLhMQBgbtII/AAAAAAAAAP4/P-nyalqZebM/s400/EA+Weekly+05.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528252380763370626" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Stand by for communication...</i></div><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5365031866925961421-7449365723952111742?l=excaliburalmazobserver.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>EA Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15335524725345385995noreply@blogger.com0