NASA JSC Casting Tower

At NASA JSC, during Fall 2025 I was a Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) Engineering Intern within the Thermal Design Branch, where my flagship project in collaboration with SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral TPS team involved leading the construction of JSC’s first casting tower to produce 6” x 6” reusable heat shield tiles for Artemis III, HLS, and SpaceX vehicles. I generated Creo CAD models, fabricated 25+ precision metal components via CNC machining, and performed structural analysis calculations to design and construct the casting tower. This work required frequent hand calculations, GD&T application, and close coordination with machine shops to ensure manufacturable hardware.