Fueling the imagination Carlos Guzman is a manufacturing research and development engineer for Boeing Research & Technology in Seattle. In this Frontiers series that profiles employees discussing their jobs, Guzman explains his work on a project that can dramatically reduce the weight of rocket fuel tanks by using composite technology, and how collaboration and hard work pay off. Frontiers May 2014 11 WHAT WE DO This engineer is helping build rocket fuel tanks like none before By Nathan A. Hulings and photo by Marian Lockhart I came to Boeing nine years ago hoping to work on challenging programs and learn from some of the best engineers in the world. Have I ever. During the past four years, I’ve been part of a team that is building something that has never been built before at this scale. I’m co-manufacturing lead on NASA’s Composite Cryotank Technologies and Demonstration contract, under which Boeing designed and built two all-composite fuel tanks for use on next-generation heavy launch space vehicles. In March, the larger tank was shipped to Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., where it is undergoing testing. If implemented, this technology can reduce fuel tank weight by 30 percent, cost by 25 percent, and increase payload capability on future human space exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. Building two all-composite fuel tanks (about 8 and 18 feet, or 2.4 and 5.5 meters, in diameter) consecutively in a 29-month time period seemed like a daunting task. But we were up for the challenge. Boeing makes a lot of large-scale commercial and military products, so our team had all the tools in place to plan and successfully perform. However, several of the tank’s components still required extensive on-the-fly development, especially on the smaller tank. This gave us several exciting, stressful and challenging moments. As an engineer working countless hours dealing with unexpected challenges, I often forget to step back from my work and appreciate the magnitude of what’s being accomplished. For me, that moment didn’t occur until I started reading news articles about the program, talking about our work during visits by senior management, and seeing a large photo in the Huntsville airport showing off our robotic operation. It was then that I realized our team was creating something special. Ask any of the dozens of people who have worked the program and they’ll tell you the road has not been easy or predictable. We’ve spent sleepless nights and given up numerous weekends and holidays working to meet major milestones and an aggressive schedule. As a manufacturing lead, I am pulled in numerous directions every day. I love the fact that my job allows me to offset scheduling and budgeting tasks with hands-on factory-floor work. When our work pushes the envelope, Boeing employees kick into overdrive and work together toward a common goal. Building strong professional and personal relationships helps get the job done and provides a foundation for future efforts. I’m very fortunate to work within a facility that has some of the most advanced lab resources, equipment and, most important, skilled professionals. Those of us on this program have a common vision and trust one another to apply our own unique skills and expertise. I’m learning things I never dreamed I’d need to know at this stage of my career. I feel like I’m getting 10 years of experience in two. At this point, in what I hope is a long career at Boeing, I am honored that management and my fellow employees gave me the opportunity to oversee the job. Boeing engineers helped put a man on the moon. Hopefully, our work will open new business opportunities for Boeing and help fuel the aspirations of and motivate the next generation of scientists, engineers and space explorers. n nathan.a.hulings@boeing.com
Frontiers May 2014 Issue
To see the actual publication please follow the link above