New engine design allows airplanes to reach orbit - in theory.

[Rac80]

One tidbit about NASA i have always found fascinating.... in 1969 the average age of a NASA engineer was 27, in 2010 it was 49..... just sayin'.


The point being- the young and hungry engineers of the 1960s were way more innovative than the older and stodgy engineers of today. food for thought.

 

[Overmind One]

One tidbit about NASA i ahve always found fascinating.... in 1969 the average age of a NASA engineer was 27, in 1010 it was 49..... just sayin'.


The point being- the young and hungry engineers of the 1960s were way more innovative than the older and stodgy engineers of today. food for thought.

Youre absolutely correct! Its the same 27 year old engineers who have been there since the 1960s! They are entrenched and have careers to hold onto. Its time for them to move on and let the younger people in there. In fact, that needs to happen across the board. We need a Supreme Court Judge who is younger than 50 We need new physics and engineering principles. Move away from rocketry and into thrust management (no matter the source). NASA is still using the "tried and true" rocket technology that Goddard gave us way back in WWII times. We need the equivalent of a hybrid, like this engine, which is more fuel efficient yet just as powerful as a LFR (liquid fueled rocket). Satellite payloads can be smaller because we can make them smaller and more powerful now.

 

[SciphonicStranger]

Does the USA have as many engineering graduates as it used to?

 

[Overmind One]

Does the USA have as many engineering graduates as it used to?

I think they do, but not "rocket scientists". The thing is, the whole thing with "rocket scientists" is that they are basically as obsolete as rockets are. The only places rockets are used are in missiles and the space program. So the engineers that are graduating are choosing disciplines like chemical engineering, agricultural engineering, civil and electrical, etc.

 

[SciphonicStranger]

I think they do, but not "rocket scientists". The thing is, the whole thing with "rocket scientists" is that they are basically as obsolete as rockets are. The only places rockets are used are in missiles and the space program. So the engineers that are graduating are choosing disciplines like chemical engineering, agricultural engineering, civil and electrical, etc.

Thanks for breaking it down for me. I work in the IT industry and we rarely hire new college grads anymore.

 

[Overmind One]

Thanks for breaking it down for me. I work in the IT industry and we rarely hire new college grads anymore.

Me too. My skills are more in demand than the fresh faced college grads who have no experience but lots of "new" technology book knowledge.

 

[SciphonicStranger]

Me too. My skills are more in demand than the fresh faced college grads who have no experience but lots of "new" technology book knowledge.

I think I know what you mean. I never really worry about myself as I just adapt to new technical stuff on the fly. It just concerns me that there doesn't seem to be a base of younger US workers to take my place someday when I finally decide to retire. Everything just seems to get offshored these days.

 

[Gatefan1976]

I've said it before but it's worth remembering, fields like space aeronautics and wanting to know "what's out there" are just about dead at the moment. There is so much junk going on on our little green and blue marble at the moment that it just doesn't fire the imagination of todays youth. Being in orbit, passe, we have the space station, going to the moon, where's the impetus there? Quite simply, there is not the competition that existed between the US and the USSR to get the ball rolling anymore and the US doesn't see the Euro Space Agency the same way it saw Russia's cosmonaughts. The EU is thier "buddy", and surly thier buddy will help them out.....
The reality is, it is only in times of conflict that people look at such things as building on Mars or the Moon, or getting in the kids that just might have a better idea about how to do things rather than taking the word of the aknowledged "experts". The power structure of the world is entrenched right now, and quite frankly, it needs to hand over the reigns to the younger generations. I don't want it to go away, not at all. but it needs to step aside and offer the advice it has learned rather than trying to cling on to it's established powerbase.

(sorry for the political-esque overtones)

 

[mzzz]

Rocket science isn't really a degree these days. Yeah, aerospace engineering is kinda dead at the moment, no one's really building anything. Besides, working at Nasa and other space related things these days is not about having that aerospace degree but a bunch of different people with different degrees. There are different things going on like you would have the electrical subsystem containing electrical engineers, computer interface subsystem containing computer engineers, thermodynamics subsystem containing mechanical engineers or something, etc.

 

[Rac80]

Does the USA have as many engineering graduates as it used to?

My hubby got his PhD in chemistry (his major prof won a noble prize in chemistry last year )at one of the biggest engineering schools in the country- Purdue University. Only the air force academy has graduated more astronauts...many nasa engineers have their advanced degree in engineering (areospace or mechanical to name but two areas) from good old purdue. I know loads of engineers andseveral who have worked for NASA, but yeah- the jobs are currently drying up! we need private sector space exploration.

 

[Overmind One]

Rocket science isn't really a degree these days. Yeah, aerospace engineering is kinda dead at the moment, no one's really building anything. Besides, working at Nasa and other space related things these days is not about having that aerospace degree but a bunch of different people with different degrees. There are different things going on like you would have the electrical subsystem containing electrical engineers, computer interface subsystem containing computer engineers, thermodynamics subsystem containing mechanical engineers or something, etc.

Yep, I worked as a Systems Engineer at an aerospace manufacturing firm in Torrance for 6 years. The computer network was awesome to work with, complete with CAD stations, CATIA, AutoCad and spaceballs. But the "old guard" still would be in awe of WWII pilots, rockets, turboprop engines and the like. The term "rocket scientist" used to convey uber high intelligence and prestige. But today, its like "rockets?". Arguably, it takes more engineering skill to build Toyota's hybrid engines than it does to build a Saturn 5 rocket. The shuttle is far more advanced, but with chemical engines and unpowered descent and the lack of air breathing engines for atmospheric flight, its nothing more than a plane shaped rocket with more room and a means to be recovered. Not a true reusable vehicle. The fuel tanks it uses in takeoff are no better than any rocket.

 

[Gatefan1976]

My hubby got his PhD in chemistry (his major prof won a noble prize in chemistry last year )at one of the biggest engineering schools in the country- Purdue University. Only the air force academy has graduated more astronauts...many nasa engineers have their advanced degree in engineering (areospace or mechanical to name but two areas) from good old purdue. I know loads of engineers andseveral who have worked for NASA, but yeah- the jobs are currently drying up! we need private sector space exploration.

Like say, Virgin

 

[Rac80]

Like say, Virgin

yep yep and how dare the brits pass the USA??? we need american companies to take up the slack now that NASA has been gutted!

 

[EvilSpaceAlien]

yep yep and how dare the brits pass the USA??? we need american companies to take up the slack now that NASA has been gutted!

Well you've got Bigelow Aerospace don't you? It's a pretty big player if I remember correctly.

 

[mzzz]

^european gigolo ? There's Lockheed and Boeing and....I got nothing.

 

[mzzz]

Yep, I worked as a Systems Engineer at an aerospace manufacturing firm in Torrance for 6 years. The computer network was awesome to work with, complete with CAD stations, CATIA, AutoCad and spaceballs. But the "old guard" still would be in awe of WWII pilots, rockets, turboprop engines and the like. The term "rocket scientist" used to convey uber high intelligence and prestige. But today, its like "rockets?". Arguably, it takes more engineering skill to build Toyota's hybrid engines than it does to build a Saturn 5 rocket. The shuttle is far more advanced, but with chemical engines and unpowered descent and the lack of air breathing engines for atmospheric flight, its nothing more than a plane shaped rocket with more room and a means to be recovered. Not a true reusable vehicle. The fuel tanks it uses in takeoff are no better than any rocket.

That's awesome, I took an intro to Cad class, forgot most of it. What'd you do there? Well, what was the most interesting project you worked on there?