Mechanical Engineering Internship : Astrobotic Technology
Company Overview: Astrobotic Technologies is a company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which builds lunar landers and rovers. At the time of writing this, the company’s first lander Peregrine is scheduled to launch in December 2024, and a larger lander Griffin is slated to launch in the next few years. In addition to landers, the company also builds a number of rovers, including the modular and customer-adaptable CubeRover. The company’s vision is focused on improving access to space, and it also does a lot of good work with the Pittsburgh community, including having a “Moon Museum” in the front of its headquarters.
Role Overview: I worked as a Mechanical Engineering Intern within the Lunar Surface Systems department of Astrobotic. This meant that my job involved the design, manufacturing, and analysis of parts that would either be used on landers or used to test landers.
Note: Unfortunately, I can only provide limited technical details or imagery due to the proprietary nature of my work at Astrobotic.
Technical Skills Involved:
- Solidworks
- Manufacturing drawings
- Structural Analysis
- Stainless Steel Material Analysis
- 3D printing/prototyping
- Motors and motor drivers
Other Skills Involved:
- Design Review Presentations
- Interacting with vendors and customers
- Thorough documentation
General Takeaways:
In general, my summer at Astrobotic was an extremely valuable experience for me both in terms of developing my technical skills and growing generally as an engineer. Thus, in addition to improving my CAD modeling skills and my manufacturing drawings, I also learned a lot about how to effectively communicate ideas, communicate with other professionals, and document the work I had done for effective transfer of knowledge. I was also exposed for the first time to the NASA proposal framework, including concepts such as Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and the different stages of grants. My mentor and the generally supportive atmosphere at Astrobotic helped me grow significantly over the course of the summer and come back to school with a lot of skills that I hadn’t had when I left.