Systems Engineering Seminar

Planetary Entry Vehicle Prototyping using CubeSats (or how to progress on a shoe-string budget and hope to play with the big guys): The Micro Return Capsule (MIRCA)

Presented by:
Jaime Esper, Code 592

Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Building 3 Auditorium

Abstract:

TBD

Biography:

Dr. Jaime Esper is a Senior Aerospace Technologist, Flight Systems Designer and Systems Engineer at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). He is the former Chief Engineer of the NASA Space Geodesy Project, former Technical Project Manager of the IceCube Earth Science Mission, and current Principal Investigator in GSFC’s CAPE/MIRCA, a Cubesat-sized planetary entry vehicle. Dr. Esper has extensive experience in areas covering advanced space science missions and system concepts, spacecraft systems and technologies, instrumentation, spacecraft design, space mission processing and operations, launch vehicle Range operations, and planetary mission and entry probe design, analysis, and technology development. Dr. Esper’s interest in planetary exploration has centered in the design of mission technologies that enable cost-effective, focused investigations. He holds degrees in Physics (B.S.) and Astronomy (M.S.) from the University of Florida, Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering (M.S.) from The George Washington University, and Aerospace Engineering (Dr. – Eng.) from the University of Stuttgart in Germany. He is author of over 30 publications, and 1 patent (pending) on thermal protection system material, specifically designed for Titan entry vehicles. He is a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).