Satellite Assembly, Integration, and Testing

I worked on assembly, integration, and testing for Pandora, a small satellite mission funded by NASA’s Pioneers Program, which aims to study exoplanets in the near future. My AI&T-related responsibilities on the project included the following:

Assembly tasks such as: cleaning parts, carefully installing Helicoils, installing and staking bolts, installing various materials and pastes to thermally or electrically isolate or connect parts, checking for electrical isolation during assembly and finding shorts
Performing micron-level accurate metrology using confocal sensors to locate an optical component and writing a script in MATLAB to analyze measurement data
Preparing subassemblies for thermal vacuum chamber testing and installing temperature sensors in critical locations
Troubleshooting unexpected assembly complications as they arose

Working on Pandora was one of the most insightful and exciting jobs I've done, and has furthered my goal in perusing a career in AI&T.

A related project I briefly contributed to involved testing the Cassegrain telescope, called CODA, which is used on Pandora. CODA (below, left) had never been night-sky tested until I designed and manufactured a custom mount to interface a machine-vision camera (below, right). The fixture was placed below CODA's primary mirror and the setup was oriented pointing zenith. I analyzed images to identify stars captured during testing.

Below are some physical models that I designed and printed as demos for various conferences and to practice assembling subsystems which I would later actually assemble in the cleanroom. Working on these resin models helped me understand and sometimes modify the assembly procedures for the actual parts.

More information about Pandora

Pandora - NASA SciencePandora is a small satellite that was selected as part of NASA’s inaugural call for Pioneer mission concepts in 2021. It’s designed to study the atmospheres

LLNL Pandora SmallSat mission clears major NASA milestone on the path toward launchLawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Pandora SmallSat mission recently passed NASA's critical design review: a major milestone for the mission to continue its journey toward launch. The Pandora SmallSat mission will study planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets, and their stars. "This is a major milestone for the mission and a huge accomplishment for our team, clearing us through spacecraft integration and to flight readiness," said Ben Bahney, LLNL's program leader for Space Science and Security. "It means NASA has a high level of confidence the mission will

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