AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Abstract

In this presentation, I will describe my journey to Starlink. We will talk about the Starlink program of SpaceX as well as the basics of electric propulsion. We will also discuss some tips and guidelines to prepare students to get hired.

Speaker

Christian Carpenter

Production Manager at SpaceX. He helped develop SpaceX’s first electric propulsion system and scaled manufacturing to full-rate production resulting in taking only one year to launch more Hall thruster systems than all others in world history combined. From 2005 to 2015, he was a program manager and space architect at Aerojet Rocketdyne where he helped develop space transportation architectures and advanced propulsion technology including the first 3D-printed hydrazine propulsion system. Prior to his work at Aerojet, he was an Aerospace Engineer contractor at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OH where he helped develop advanced propulsion for NASA missions and set world records in power and operating life for electric thrusters. He graduated from Auburn University in 2002 with his BS in Aerospace Engineering.