Real Life Survivor

1. Real Life Survivor Maintaining Your Career in the Aerospace Industry Dr. Robert Howard Director, NSBE Space SIG Disclaimer: The contents of this presentation do not represent the opinion or policy of NSBE, NASA, or any other organizational body. They are the sole opinion of the author and presenter.

2. Survivor • Reality show strands contestants in the wilderness with minimal tools for survival • Vote each other off the island until only one remains • But what does Survivor have to do with NSBE or with the Space SIG? Or with you?

3. Engineers Would Suck on Survivor • First person who should be voted off the island – the useless engineer • No process documents, no requirements, no charge codes, etc. • No technician or contractor support • Problems without clear procedures for resolution • Used to long product development cycles • Unfortunately, Aerospace industry is much like Survivor

4. Survival in the 21st Century Aircraft Manufacturing Industry • Defunct major aircraft manufacturers of the 20th century: • Wright, Curtiss, Martin, Douglas, Convair, North American, Republic, Grumman, McDonnell, Vought, Rockwell • Casualties of Contract Terminations: • End of World War II • North American: employment dropped from 100,000 to 6,500 in two months • Casualties of Poor Business Decisions • Lockheed L-1011 vs. McDonnell Douglas DC-10 • Market could sustain one plane, but not both • Lockheed abandoned airliner business • McDonnell Douglas weakened to point that could only produce variations of DC-9 and DC-10 • Rising costs of fighters and bombers limited ability of DOD to spread small orders across multiple manufacturers • Surviving companies: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman

5. Survival in NASA Human Spaceflight • Cancelled NASA Human Spaceflight Projects and Programs since 1972 • Apollo / Saturn V • Skylab • Shuttle C • Space Shuttle • Advanced Solid Rocket Motor • National Launch System • Space Station Freedom • DC-X • L-301/X-24C • X-30 • X-33 • X-34 • X-38 • Orbital Space Plane • Space Launch Initiative • First Lunar Outpost • LUNOX • Early Lunar Access • LANTR (LOX-Augmented Nuclear Thermal Rocket) • Human Lunar Return • Ares I (Constellation) • Ares V (Constellation) • Altair (Constellation) • Lunar Surface Systems (Constellation) • TransHab • Survivors as of 2011: International Space Station, Commercial Crew & Cargo, Orion MPCV, MMSEV, Deep Space Habitat, Space Launch System, SEP, CPS

6. Voted Off the Island Real NASA Examples • Space Shuttle program terminated to free up funding for Constellation program - over 10,000 contractors laid off • Constellation program cancelled in favor of commercial spaceflight – more layoffs • NASA AES projects structured to replace contractor labor with civil servants • Civil servants ill equipped to perform work • Contractors challenged to find funding to remain employed

7. MANPRINT: Survivability • DOD Definition (USAF): • The consideration of the characteristics of a system (e.g. life support, body armor, helmets, plating, egress/ejection equipment, air bags, seat belts, electronic shielding, etc.) that reduce susceptibility of the total system to mission degradation or termination. The goal is to reduce detectability of the warfighter, prevent attack if detected, prevent damage if attacked, minimize medical injury if wounded or otherwise injured, and reduce physical and mental fatigue. These issues must be considered in the context of the full spectrum of anticipated operations and operational environments and for all personnel who will interact with the system (e.g. users/customers, operators, maintainers, or other support personnel). Adequate protection and escape systems must provide for personnel and total system survivability when they are threatened with harm.

8. MANPRINT: Survivability • Application to your career • The consideration of the characteristics of a person (e.g. technical skills, professional reputation, publications and patents, networking connections, achievements and recognitions, influence, leadership and management ability, etc.) that reduce susceptibility of the aerospace professional to career degradation or termination. The goal is to reduce vulnerability of the aerospace professional, prevent layoffs in economic downturns, prevent personal career damage if laid off, maximize career alternatives if unemployed, and reduce physical, mental, and emotional fatigue. These issues must be considered in the context of the full spectrum of anticipated corporate environments and for all projects and programs for whom you work. Adequate protection and escape systems must provide for career survivability when your industry is threatened with harm.

9. Who Survives the Layoffs? • No matter what state the economy is in, every aerospace company must spend money to produce products • Two forms of survival, both are good • Evade layoff and thrive in company • Transition from employee to entrepreneur • Can also buy time with funded graduate school opportunities • What Can You Do With Your Hands? • Are you a cog or a prime mover in your organization?

10. Let NSBE Train You It is possible to survive • When your program is cut to next to nothing, a helpful skill is the ability to make something out of nothing • Real example: Boeing CEV proposal vs. Boeing CST-100 You can survive, too…NSBE can help • NSBE cannot promise career invulnerability but the NSBE Space SIG can add or reinforce skills that increase your survivability http://www.nsbe-space.org

11. Learn By Doing • Actively participate in NSBE engineering activities • Move beyond the education and outreach paradigm • Focus of a true technical society is advancement of technology • Must be a self-starter, ability to work independently • Geographically distributed projects; both team and individual • Limited existing support infrastructure • NSBE offers many ways for you to learn or demonstrate technical talents – pick your poison • Added bonus: demonstration of technical talents within NSBE community • We know your skills, not just your face • Collaboration opportunities and teaming for entrepreneurial ventures http://www.nsbe-space.org

12. Pick Your Poison: CAD • Project Arusha • Conceptual design project focused on large lunar rover • Conceptual design established for crew cabin • Technical papers available from 2006 ASCE Earth & Space, 2007 IEEE ICSSE, 2010 ASC, STS-2011, 2012 ASC (coming) • CAD work needed to complete volumetric sizing and kick off other subsystems • Cubesat Inflatable Telescope • Inflatable barrel Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope designed for use in a cubesat • Innovative inflation mechanism with possible patent opportunity • CAD work needed to refine design of deployment mechanisms http://www.nsbe-space.org

13. Pick Your Poison: Hardware Fabrication and Testing • Cubesat Inflatable Telescope (pending resources) • Design has progressed to point where some fabrication possible • Requires new funding to procure hardware and fabrication facility(ies) • Project Arusha (pending resources) • Temporary mockup constructed in 2009 for walk-through analysis • Second mockup would be useful to validate design changes introduced at STS-2011 • Requires completion of CAD, funding, and facility • Power Beaming Demonstration Unit • Unit constructed in 2010, located in Houston, TX • Portable for test opportunities at ASC 2012, National Convention, STS-2013 • Increase efficiency • Test alternate components • Proposal/fundraising options for construction of additional, higher power units http://www.nsbe-space.org

14. Pick Your Poison: Engineering Analysis • Lunar Solar Power • Feasibility study of 1+ GW power transmission from Moon to Earth • High level or “in the weeds” analysis opportunities • Over 20 independent research topic areas • Business case, Space transportation, Surface deployment, Robotics, Artificial intelligence / autonomy, Materials science, RF transmission • Project Arusha • Rover subsystem sizing: ECLS, Thermal, Power, Mobility, EVA, Communication, Avionics, GNC, etc. http://www.nsbe-space.org

15. Pick Your Poison: Field Testing • Mars Desert Research Station • All-NSBE expedition to Mars analogue facility • Six crew members for 14-day mission • Open call for experiments and crew members • Any NSBE member eligible • Must propose experiments to conduct during mission • Opportunity to collect additional data if current work duties include field testing • Opportunity to pursue engineering or science test activities outside of current expertise • Expedition will be scheduled once accrue six crew plus sufficient experiments and associated funding • Multiple expeditions possible with additional crew and/or experiments http://www.nsbe-space.org

16. Pick Your Poison: Sign Up NOW • Note: Limited NSBE National TORCH Program funding is available for SIG projects conducted with NSBE chapters • Special emphasis on projects engaging community, collegiate, and Alumni chapters http://www.nsbe-space.org

17. Build Your Credentials2012 NSBE ASCFebruary 1-4, 2012, Los Angeles • Tech Papers • How many publications do you have within the past year? Total? • Engineering publications extremely important to health of industry • Also important to build personal technical reputation; helps lead toward promotions • Many African American aerospace professionals have no or few publications • ASC geared towards supporting first time authors • Still possible to prepare paper http://www.nsbe-asc2012.org

18. Build Your Credentials2012 NSBE ASCFebruary 1-4, 2012, Los Angeles • Training • Currently seeking input for technical courses of value to aerospace industry professionals • NOT offering project management type courses offered at PDC and National Convention • Seeking courses that significantly enhance your work performance but (preferably) are not readily available (or limited enrollment) at your corporate facility • Affordability in the Aerospace and Defense Sector being taught by Raytheon (Sat, Feb 3) http://www.nsbe-asc2012.org

19. Build Your Credentials2012 NSBE ASCFebruary 1-4, 2012, Los Angeles • Aerospace Technical Tours • Why do you go on a tour? • See cool things? NO! • Focus on both the site AND other persons on tour • Scout technologies and trends • Scout collaborative ventures • Scout networking relationships http://www.nsbe-asc2012.org

20. Build Your Credentials2012 NSBE ASCFebruary 1-4, 2012, Los Angeles • Awards • 60+ opportunities for recognition • Technical Paper Awards • 21st Century Trailblazers in Aerospace • Celestial Torch Awards http://www.nsbe-asc2012.org

21. Build Your Credentials2012 NSBE ASCFebruary 1-4, 2012, Los Angeles • Business Development • Two business development goals for ASC: • Facilitate industry professionals to form collaborative team to pursue a funded research or development opportunity • Facilitate formation of an entrepreneurial team to launch a new aerospace business • ACTION: Identify an activity within your professional duties that would benefit from collaboration either within or beyond your company (funded or non-funded collaboration) • Prepare sufficient material to explain your activity • Bring to NSBE-ASC and seek out potential collaborators http://www.nsbe-asc2012.org

22. Build Your Credentials2012 NSBE ASCFebruary 1-4, 2012, Los Angeles • Space Policy Advocacy • United States democracy involves more public participation than is often practiced • Few exercise the basic right to formulate an opinion and express it to federal leadership • Yet, the actions of government directly impact career survivability • Future of Human Spaceflight forum at ASC intended to help formulate a Space SIG position • Leadup to Congressional visit, usually in late February, in partnership with National Space Society • ASC enables NSBE Space to come with an agenda versus simply adopting the platform of other space nonprofits • Lessons learned can be applied to future advocacy in aviation or other disciplines http://www.nsbe-asc2012.org

23. Build Your Credentials2012 NSBE ASCFebruary 1-4, 2012, Los Angeles • Mentorship • Focused gathering of senior Black aerospace executives • 2010 conference examples: • Astronaut Bob Curbeam • Aerospace Corporation President Dr. Wanda Austin • Futron CEO Joe Fuller • Apollo Laser Scientist Hal Walker • Leverage opportunity to make long term contacts and create mentoring relationships http://www.nsbe-asc2012.org

24. Build Your Credentials2012 NSBE ASCFebruary 1-4, 2012, Los Angeles • Leadership Development • Conference Execution • Planning a complex activity like the conference involves similar skills to managing complex engineering projects • Conference-based Collaboration • Unlimited opportunities to take self-initiative to create technical projects (NSBE or work related) with inherent leadership opportunity • Leverage visibility opportunities of project http://www.nsbe-asc2012.org

25. Questions?