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Patrick Trias
CST Writing Lab
10 January 2018
Journey to Software Engineering for Space Exploration

Software engineering, a branch of computer science, is a career that is in demand across

many industries. There are also many fields within software engineering to specialize in, some of

them are web development, mobile application, data science, embedded systems and systems

development. A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a similar major is required. According

to www.bls.gov, in 2016, the median pay for software engineers was about $102,480 a year and

the employment of software engineers from 2016 to 2026 is estimated to increase by up to 24%

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). Famous companies known for software engineering positions

include Google, Microsoft, Netgear, Intel and Apple. Other occupations that relate to this career

are IT specialist, Project manager and User Experience Researcher.

Computer science is a broad field, and where if an engineer realizes they do not like

programming, there are other occupations within the field to transfer to. For a job that has

various roles, pays well and is available in nearly all industries, what is the catch? Sokanu.com

defines a software engineer as,

Someone who is engaged in computer software development, and applies engineering

principles to software creation. They apply these engineering principles to every stage of

the development process, from requirements analysis to the software process, and create

customized systems for individual clients” (Sokanu, n.d.).

With this definition, there are different skillsets an engineer should develop. Engineers usually

work in teams where their work and input must go through a process, which could make one’s

job more difficult. An engineer who engages in engineering principles is one who is expected to

identify problems and adapt to new tools and languages as the software industry changes
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(Sokanu, n.d.). In addition to solving software problems, a software engineer is one who solves

these problems efficiently by optimization. In summary, a software engineer has multi-faceted

skills and are able to solve new problems that do not appear on Google’s search results.

Though software engineers spend time focusing on their clients’ needs and then

implement those needs through programming, there are many elements to their day outside of

solving technical problems. According to Craig Waterman (2017), a software engineer at

Terakeet, life as a software engineer is defined as spending a day on the computer “branching,

iterating and refactoring” from a development platform such as Github, while consistently

receiving feedback on code from team members working within the same project. Other parts of

the day as an engineer do not happen in order, for example there are team standup meetings

where a team discusses the status of the project, and a checkup on every team members progress.

Standup meetings are an essential part of a working team as it confirms the team members’ focus

and it is the time to recognize potential hitches within a project. Another portion of the day

consists of writing tests to validate code that is both readable and bug-free. Some companies

even promote their engineers to continue learning new technologies. Craig Waterman (2017)

also mentions team members at Terakeet have enrolled in online classes to learn machine

learning during work because lifelong learning is part of their team’s core values.

With rapid advancement in software and in robotics within the past decade, vehicles and

machines designed to fly in outer space are becoming more reliant on software that will change

the way we will explore outer space. Mar’s rovers for example, gets sent upgraded software

produced by NASA software engineers intermittently from Earth (“Software Engineering”, n.d.).

These include improved navigation control under extreme environments, data gathering tools

that promotes scientific discovery, and diagnostics which provide troubleshooting mechanisms
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during exploration. In December 2017, using machine learning software from Google, National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) found an eighth planet revolving around a star

similar to the Sun named Kepler-90, this new discovery of an eighth planet ties our solar system

for the maximum number of planets revolving around one star (Northon, 2017). Machine

learning is a method in artificial intelligence where a computer “learns” to do something given

ample data (Northon, 2017). In this case, a NASA computer learned to discover planets similar

to Earth by feeding it data of occurrences where Kepler, a space telescope launched by NASA in

2009, identified possible planets outside of the solar system despite weak signal indicators.

Artificial intelligence has risen in popularity within the last several years for many innovative

applications, whether it is used to improve business models in large corporations, have

computers autonomously beat video game levels or even discover new planets via wireless

software upgrades in space.

The space industry is defined as companies that have a hand in providing goods and

services of economic value by means of equipment sent to space (Schrogle, 2010). Some

common goods that we use on a daily basis are made possible via space equipment such as space

satellites that send global positioning system signals and television broadcast. Boeing, SpaceX,

Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin are some of the major corporations within the industry to

develop spacecraft and rockets. Boeing is currently contracted to build the world’s largest rocket

for NASA called the Space Launch System, capable of carrying humans and payloads far beyond

the moon (“Boeing Space Launch System”, n.d.). In 2015, Blue Origin and SpaceX have

successfully been able to launch reusable rockets that are able to land back to Earth (“The Great

Billionaire Space Race”, 2016).

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Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic are of the many companies engaged in “the

billionaire’s space race” (“The Great Billionaire Space Race”, 2016). With NASA’s decreased

funding from 4.4% of the federal budget in 1966 to 0.5% in 2016, billionaires have had a drive to

invest in companies to research space exploration and its benefits. Consequentially, these

billionaire-funded space companies compete with one another in the frontier of commercialized

space tourism (“The Great Billionaire Space Race”, 2016).

NASA, an independent agency from the United States government, has well-connected

ties to the space industry and arguably were the first to jump start the industry. NASA was

established in 1958 during the cold war by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the US

Congress (Garber, S., Launius, R., & Dick, S., n.d.). This was the era according to Garber et al.

(n.d.), where superpower nations who held different ideologies, challenged each other in areas

other than war for geopolitical supremacy. NASA was the result of the burdens of the Cold War.

When the Soviets launched the first satellite to orbit space in 1957, it was called “The Sputnik

Crisis” because Americans during that time anxiously felt there was a technological gap between

the US and the USSR (Garber et al., n.d.). This crisis pushed congress to increase spending in

aerospace research because the US needed a presence in space. NASA with 4.4% of the federal

budget, sent out a satellite of their own the same year they were founded in 1958 (Garber et al.,

n.d.). From the first human landing on the moon, to the ongoing robotic missions of Voyager 1 &

2 which explore outer-planets billions of miles away and from launching one of the first satellites

in space, NASA has conducted a wide range of epic space missions (Garber et al., n.d.).

NASA as a whole is the number one federal government agency to work in in the nation

according to nonpartisan, Partnership for Public Service (“Overall Rankings”, n.d.). NASA also

leads in the cutting edge of research all the while taking up 0.5% of federal taxes. Technology
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used in outer space can also be transferred to real world solutions, adding to economic growth

(Culler, 2015). Some examples of transferring space technology to real world uses include the

temper foam (Parten, 2011). The temper foam was developed in Ames Research Center to create

comfortable, safety padding for crash protection in airplane passenger seats. It has also been

deployed in pillows, mattresses and in race cars by NASCAR for its protection (Parten, 2011).

There are ten NASA centers in the United States that each executes its missions in

different ways. In particular, NASA Ames Research Center located in Mountain View,

California conducts research and development in: Space Entry systems, Advanced Computing &

IT Systems, Aero sciences, Air Traffic Management, Astrobiology and Life Science, Cost-

Effective Space Missions, Intelligent/Adaptive Systems autonomy & robotics, and Space and

Earth Science (Culler, 2015). NASA Ames also partners with many people from academia, non-

profit organizations and private companies both domestic and abroad to maintain the research

center’s reputation as a hotbed for enabling NASA’s missions (Culler, 2015).

The Center Director of NASA Ames is Eugene Tu. A PhD Stanford grad in 1988, he

started his career as a research scientist in computational, and proceeded to various research

positions in computational aerodynamics, informational technology and high-performance

computing and communications (Culler, 2015). Prior to being selected as Center director in

2015, he led four research and development divisions. A Center Director in charge of leading a

NASA center through planning how a program is accomplished, determine whether to improve

human resources in the center, and to maintain the NASA Ames reputation as the center of

excellence for information technology (“NASA Roles, Responsibilities, and Organizational

Structure.”, n.d.).
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The Deputy Director position is led by Tom A. Edwards, a PhD graduate from Stanford

University. According to Kovo (2016), Tom started at NASA Ames in 1983 and served an

assortment of research and managerial positions from computational fluid dynamics to aviation

operations. The Deputy Director at Ames shadows the Center Director in function and acts as the

Center Director in the Director’s absence or vacancy (Kovo, 2016).

Some of the current trends at Ames Research Center is that they are working in areas of

air space in air traffic management, unmanned aircrafts and urban air mobility. Ames Research

Center is also extending research on human exploration to the moon and then to Mars with a safe

return to Earth. (Eugene Tu, personal communication, December 22, 2017).

One of NASA Ames’s field of research in software engineering is diagnostics and

prognostics. The Diagnostics and Prognostics group in Ames is a part of the Intelligent Systems

division that conducts research in diagnostics, prognostics and prognostics decision-making.

Diagnostics in this context is the act of detecting a case of failure or malfunction in a system

where a system can be a machine, structure, aircraft, .etc. Prognostics is the act of predicting

when this system will fail based on algorithms that are either based on data, modeling or a hybrid

of the two. Grounded by the results of diagnostics and prognostics, more informed decisions can

be made to prevent a failure of the system. The goal of Diagnostics and Prognostics group and

Prognostics Center of Excellence as a whole is to report on gaps in prognostics technology

within aeronautics and space exploration (“Prognostics Center Overview”, n.d.).

I am interested in beginning a career as a software engineer or a data scientist for a

government agency. My educational plan is to follow CSUMB CS class syllabus, and pass

classes with A’s. Another proponent to the class is to be interactive with team and projects,

especially the community service project to gain hands on experience in how to impact the
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community, and then the world. Outside objectives I have for myself is to be successful as an

Intern at NASA Ames, as in, surpass mentor’s expectations and earn a recommendation for

future internships at NASA. Once I am exposed to many professional experiences whether from

internships, or voluntary work for the community, I then decide on a niche where to specialize in

software engineering. After settling with a choice, complete a project, and then continue to apply

for internships in private corporations like Google, Blizzard, and SpaceX. Preparation to finding

employment is for the few months continue to build efficient study habits, and to build rapport at

internships with mentors for future opportunities and networking. This semester is a balance of

internship, and two classes while striving to exceed expectations.

Professional associations are my peers in college who are also studying computer

science. It is very easy to ask a student who is a year or two ahead of me and ask about the

classes, which I’ll have to take in the future and receive advice. Another Professional association

includes professors who have studied computer science and/or mathematics.

Once I am comfortable with my study habits, then I will work on working on my own

apps, it is easy to do, there are many YouTube tutorials to make simple games and practical apps.

I have applied to an internship as recently as November 1st, at an energy start-up. They are make

appliances such as a simple light bulb that turn on based on our habits during the day.
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Reference

Boeing Space Launch System. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from

http://www.boeing.com/space/space-launch-system/

Culler, J. (2015, April 03). What We Do at NASA's Ames Research Center. Retrieved January

06, 2018, from https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/research/index.htm

Culler, J. (2015, May 04). Center Director - Eugene Tu. Retrieved January 06, 2018, from

https://www.nasa.gov/ames/center-director-eugene-tu

Dunbar, B. (2013, June 05). NASA Ames Research Center History. Retrieved January 06, 2018,

from https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/about/history.html

Garber, S., Launius, R., & Dick, S. (n.d.). A Brief History of NASA. Retrieved January 23, 2018,

from https://history.nasa.gov/factsheet.html

Kovo, Y. (2016, January 11). Tom Edwards - NASA Ames' Role in the Future of Exploration,

Science, and Aeronautics. Retrieved January 24, 2018, from

https://www.nasa.gov/ames/ocs/2015-summer-series/tu-edwards

NASA Roles, Responsibilities, and Organizational Structure. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2018,

from https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codez/strahand/roles.htm

Northon, K. (2017, December 14). Artificial Intelligence, NASA Data Used to Discover

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release/artificial-intelligence-nasa-data-used-to-discover-eighth-planet-circling-distant-

star

Overall Rankings. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2018, from

http://bestplacestowork.org/BPTW/rankings/overall/large
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Parten, C. (2011, June 17). Top Commercial Products Launched by NASA. Retrieved January

24, 2018, from https://www.cnbc.com/2011/06/17/Top-Commercial-Products-Launched-

by-NASA.html?slide=4

Prognostics Center Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2018, from

https://ti.arc.nasa.gov/tech/dash/groups/pcoe/

Schrogl, K. (2010). Yearbook on space policy 2008/2009: setting new trends. Wien: Springer. Commented [SM1]: If this is a book then it is probably
considered a tertiary source. P
Sheetz, M. (2017, October 31). The space industry will be worth nearly $3 trillion in 30 years,

Bank of America predicts. Retrieved January 15, 2018, from

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/the-space-industry-will-be-worth-nearly-3-trillion-in-

30-years-bank-of-america-predicts.html

Software Developer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2018, from

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm

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https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/technology/technologiesofbroadbenefit/software/

Software Engineer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2018, from

https://www.sokanu.com/careers/software-engineer/

The Great Billionaire Space Race. (2016, September 17). Retrieved January 15, 2018, from

http://theweek.com/articles/648995/great-billionaire-space-race

Waterman, C. (2017, April 6). A Day in the Life of a Software Engineer: In the Office. Retrieved

January 23, 2018, from https://www.terakeet.com/inside/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-software-

engineer-in-the-office/