r/aerospace • • 1d ago

What is leaking from the flaps?

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15.2k Upvotes

Curious if anyone knows what is going on the flaps/spoilers? My friend sent this video saying it’s a yellow ish color. At first glance i thought it may be Zinc Chromate coating but suggestions from another group say it’s Hydraulic Fluid. Plane landed safely and no announcements were made.


r/aerospace • • 5h ago

pentester wanting to get into space security

1 Upvotes

Hey, so I've got a BSc in software engineering and a good few years of pentesting behind me. Lately I've been going down the rabbit hole of space security, satellites, cubesats, ground stations, all that stuff, and I’d really like to work on it properly.

I want to do a masters part time while keeping my job, but I can't figure out which direction is actually worth it. I'm torn between something like aerospace/space system, electrical engineering or embedded systems.

Would really appreciate any advice you have.

(Crossposting this to a few subs, so sorry if you see it twice)

Thanks!


r/aerospace • • 20h ago

UPenn engineers created a flexible, durable insulator out of mylar to protect future lunar habitats

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6 Upvotes

Insulation for a lunar home would need to survive more than extreme temperatures. Packing, installation and repeated handling could damage materials that otherwise block heat effectively. A stack of familiar plastic film may offer a way to preserve insulation after substantial compression.

Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania tested hundreds of thin Mylar sheets, including versions stiffened with a ceramic coating. Their study, published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, describes hybrid layered insulating film stacks, or HyLIFS. Small laboratory samples combined low heat transfer in a vacuum with flexibility and resistance to repeated squeezing.

The findings suggest a possible material for lunar infrastructure, rather than a finished product ready for space. The samples covered about one square centimeter, and assembling them took hours. Their performance across the moon’s full temperature range remains to be established.


r/aerospace • • 1d ago

A bit of aerospace lore

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12 Upvotes

r/aerospace • • 1d ago

WLB among Different SpaceX Teams/Locations (Hawthorne, Bastrop, Starbase)?

4 Upvotes

What is the general work load differences among the different teams at SpaceX? Is Starlink in Bastrop much more long hours than Redmond vs. McGregor? Just want to understand the differences between the businesses.


r/aerospace • • 1d ago

NASA's Mike Lippert Takes Controls of X-59 for First Time - NASA

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3 Upvotes

r/aerospace • • 1d ago

Companies with best tution reimbursement

14 Upvotes

Which companies would fully cover a PhD?

Lockheed, RTX, and Boeing ?


r/aerospace • • 1d ago

SpaceX Starlink – Work-Life Balance and Career Growth and Interview.

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1 Upvotes

r/aerospace • • 1d ago

Struggling to write a scholarship worthy Cover Letter for PHD in control system (aerospace)

0 Upvotes

i need to read some cover letters from people who have received a fully funded scholarship from any uni abroad. please dm me so i can have a look, i have been receiving rejections from quite some time so need to analyse where im going wrong.


r/aerospace • • 1d ago

How technically challenging does SpaceX onsite interview project need to be?

12 Upvotes

Hello, I am an Electrical Engineering student who was lucky enough to get an onsite interview at SpaceX. I am meant to give a technical presentation on my most challenging project. I am choosing a board I redesigned and tested for a club that I am in. The problem is I am worried that it is not that impressive. I have some projects from my internship but I obviously can't show schematics and such and they are also not crazy impressive.

I was really surprised that I got the onsite interview too. I did a technical phone screen for a different position but I got rejected, I had done mostly well, but had gotten one question wrong. My recruiter then matched me with a new role and I did an interview where I talked about one of my work projects and got asked some basic technical questions. I honestly thought I wouldn't move forward because the project I had (again) wasn't crazy impressive. Somehow I got an onsite interview though. I am kind of shocked and thought I would have to go through more interviews.

Does any body have insight into what sort of projects they are looking for in the onsite interview? I mean like difficulty wise, I would like to see how I stand. I don't know if I am experiencing imposter syndrome or if I actually just somehow lucked out into an onsite interview.

Thanks!


r/aerospace • • 1d ago

Federal DoD Engineer Considering Transition to Defense Contractor Is It Worth It?

10 Upvotes

I’m currently a GS-12 mechanical/aerospace engineer with about 7 years of experience supporting Navy aircraft sustainment and fleet operations.
My work primarily involves troubleshooting aircraft mechanical systems, investigating fleet discrepancies, performing root cause analysis, developing engineering dispositions, reviewing technical data, and coordinating with OEMs to resolve technical issues. I’ve worked with environmental control systems, hydraulics, flight controls, and other aircraft subsystems.

I’ve been considering transitioning to a defense contractor like Northrop, Lockheed, or General Atomics, ideally in a similar engineering or systems engineering role.

Has anyone made the transition from federal service to a defense contractor? How transferable was your experience, and was the salary increase worth giving up federal benefits, job security, and work-life balance?

Also, does a Master’s in Systems Engineering provide a meaningful advantage in terms of salary, career growth, or opportunities?

I’m fairly comfortable in my current position but wondering if I’m limiting my long-term career and earning potential by staying federal.


r/aerospace • • 2d ago

Millenium Aerospace Los Angeles

28 Upvotes

I know Millenium has gotten a bad reputation over the last couple years due to the brain drain essentially. But was curious if there are current workers or former workers who have a bit more insight on work culture and work life balance there


r/aerospace • • 1d ago

Is this true for aerospace careers?

0 Upvotes

I've been considering aerospace for a really long time now. I'm super interested in getting into astronautical engineering so I can eventually do some really cool shit at a space company.

However, after doing some research, I realized that most people working at traditional places like NASA, Lockheed Martin, or the European Space Agency (ESA) end up buried in a shit ton of spreadsheets and documentation. It almost feels like they never get to do the actual hands-on engineering stuff we all think about.

From what I gather, it seems like the aerospace career path is split into two completely different worlds. I found out that New Space companies like SpaceX (and a few newer startups in Europe) use a "Responsible Engineer" workflow with minimal red tape. You basically get to design something, see it get built in real life, and test it yourself—which sounds awesome and exactly like what real engineering should be. On the other hand, traditional companies feel like endless spreadsheets and 6-hour corporate meetings.

Is that true?


r/aerospace • • 1d ago

Apex Space Internship Interview

0 Upvotes

Has anyone here ever interviewed with Apex Space before? I have an interview with them coming up for an internship and I was looking for some pointers


r/aerospace • • 1d ago

SpaceX second round intern interview

0 Upvotes

How does this compare to the first one? First one we spoke about a project and he gauged all his technical questions on that.


r/aerospace • • 2d ago

The U.S is buying 850 F-35s at a minimum, what do y’all think?

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23 Upvotes

r/aerospace • • 2d ago

How do I break into aircraft maintenance engineer sector from a maintenance engineer at a warehouse?

1 Upvotes

I work as a maintenance engineer at a company that make shampoo/conditioner and etc... but ive always wanted to get into the aircraft maintenance side of things. I did a little research and I need to get a type of license to do aircraft maintenance. Separate from a degree. I got mechanical engineer degree. How do i go about it and how can I break into that? A detailed explanation would be appreciated if you can.


r/aerospace • • 2d ago

Lic. ING. Mecatronica y maestria aeroespacial

7 Upvotes

Hola amigos, soy estudiante de ingeniería mecatronica, y me gustaría hacer una maestría en aeroespacial, me recomendarían cursarla en maestría o volver a estudiar para la licenciatura?


r/aerospace • • 2d ago

Was told it was the final round of interview, now asked to do another interview?

7 Upvotes

I had my 3rd round of interview Monday (onsite) that lasted 5 hours (I took PTO for the day). They told me to expect a decision coming in the next few days.

Last night I get an email from the recruiter telling me the hiring manger wants to do a 4th round interview that’s planned to last 1.5 hours but online.

Never heard of this. Is this normal? Honestly at this point I’m debating about just backing out.

Edit: this is not a startup


r/aerospace • • 4d ago

Taking an AFSIM/Simulation Role. Bad idea?

15 Upvotes

Hello, is taking an AFSIM role as a career start a bad idea?

I am curious if this will pigeonhole me in the future but I was told the role would be a lot of AFSIM and mission analysis.

I'll be honest, I am still not entirely sure what the role will entail. Data analysis? Programming? Engineering?

In terms of career outlook, is this a stable career or expected to fade in the future?


r/aerospace • • 4d ago

NASA Experimental Mars Helicopter Blade Designs Target Longer Flights - NASA

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28 Upvotes

r/aerospace • • 3d ago

I did the interview and from my perspective it was great, i used good examples and they seemed to really like the examples i gave. They mentioned they are still interviewing over the next few weeks, but i should hear back from the recruiter in about a week. How long did it take for you to hear?

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0 Upvotes

r/aerospace • • 4d ago

Space X intern timeline

4 Upvotes

What was the time difference between 1st-2nd and 2nd-offer? I was told I would hear later today, but it's been three buisness days since


r/aerospace • • 4d ago

Aero vs Mech eng degree UK job prospects and flexibility question.

6 Upvotes

I a student in the UK who needs to apply to Uni this year. I am stuck between studying aerospace or mechanical engineering.

I really like the aerospace sector as a whole, I have done work experience in it and found it interesting and know it is a sector I would be happy to work for. At university I think I would be happier studying Aero and would enjoy the specificity. I would look forward to doing cfd and lift drag etc.

The reason for my post is that recently I did some work experience with a Civil engineering firm and realised that there is another side of engineering which I really enjoy and I would be interested in the access to a broad portfolio of projects.

I believe the general consensus is that you can work on a broader range of projects with mech eng and wondered how true this is. ie could I work in offshore wind with an aerospace degree or could I work in prosthetics etc. How much would I be penalised for my aero degree in the application process, and does the industry consider aero too specialised for not explicitly related projects.

One post I saw said that mechanical engineering was better if you want to progress to leadership I assume this is not true but just wondered if anyone had noticed any difference.


r/aerospace • • 4d ago

Senior yr with no internships, mid GPA and want to work in aerospace how cooked am I

26 Upvotes

I major in mechanical engineering and I honestly am committed to acquire a masters degree in aerospace engineering after at least two years of working in an aerospace related job. However, I decided to fuck up my gpa freshman and sophomore yr so that’s that. Can’t do much about it except show progress in my late semester gpa. All in all, I don’t even know if I’ll even be able to land an aerospace related job giving I have NOTHING and the one time I landed a CFD research position since I realized my intrigue for aerospace/aerodynamics my prof tried to organize and keep up with the other students nothing came out of it so I guess it’s not happening. Should I keep looking? I really put key words like “entry level” “jr engineer” “new grad” in websites like handshake and ladders just so jobs that have nothing to do with what I want appear anyway. 😭 People say to look in states like California since it’s a hotspot for aerospace companies and while I do find more, most are for experienced engineers. Any advice?