Interned at SpaceX as an Avionics Intern from July 2021 - August 2021
Worked on testing driver for LIDAR avionics unit for Dragon capsule used for autonomously approaching and docking with the International Space Station (ISS)
Designed layout for a Power and Ethernet breakout 8-layer PCBA used to test the Starship IMU, methane sensors, and cameras
Power and Ethernet breakout 8-layer PCBA was a extra project I requested since the testing driver was the only project scheduled for me and I completed both
Created driver using Python and structured it to support UDP communication to and from the avionics unit
Encoded and decoded control and telemetry packets and uploaded the data to a server to be analyzed as the unit was being tested
Developed built-in visualization system in driver to view LIDAR data
Worked with high-speed LIDAR data and set up driver structure to handle high volume of data along by splitting and forwarding stream of data to another set of drivers to process the data while running tests
Decreased LIDAR data access time from 108+ hours to 5 minutes, allowing for near real-time LIDAR data access
While not part of my project, I also
Finished imaging two servers that would be used to run production tests on the LIDAR avionics unit
Used the servers to run tests in parallel when determining best configuration for splitting LIDAR data
Developed part of the testcase system that will be used with the driver I developed
Evaluated a power supply to determine compatibility with our drivers
Was an extra project I requested and included getting up to speed with Altium while also learning about fuse derating and differential pair routing
Worked on finalizing the schematic by updating the power connectors, adding fuses with jumpers, and preparing for routing
Optimized component placement to increase symmetry and simplify routing on the 8 layers
Routed the 100 MB ethernet and power connectors on the board and other required component traces
Reviewed board with testing team and PCB team intern
Prepared board for manufacturing, requested quotes from vendors, and ordered 5 boards