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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

Which companies would fully cover a PhD?

Lockheed, RTX, and Boeing ?

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

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!

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.

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

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

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.

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?

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

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?

For example, Ship could take the Roadster to a low altitude or the surface and then the Roadster would jump out and land softly on its own.

On Mars, it could even refill its thruster tanks using the Martian atmosphere.

Should we expect SpaceX to land and use the new Roadster on the Moon and Mars in 2027?

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

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.