Nathaniel Brewster Thompson-Engineering Portfolio-

50 Park Ave, Sierra Madre, CA 91024 nathaniel.b.thompson@gmail.com

(818) 519-8144

Note: The images enclosed have been cleared for public release, and are not subject to ITAR restrictions.

Table of Contents■ About Me

■ Projects ■ Mars 2020

■ Cognizant Engineer, Remote Sensing Mast (RSM)

■ Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD)■ Cognizant Engineer, Inflation Aid Assembly ■ Cognizant Engineer, Parachute Design Verification Testbed

■ Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)■ Support/Testbed Engineer, Sample Handling Testbed ■ Support Engineer, Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) ■ Cognizant Engineer, Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE)

About MeEngineering has been my passion since childhood. I got my start by competing on my high school's FIRST Robotics team and have never turned back. I received my BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington (UW) and my MS in Engineering from UCLA. The UW is where I met my wife of 7 years, with whom I have a two year old son and a second son on the way. Over the last three years, my wife and I have been lovingly restoring our 1900 Victorian home near Pasadena, CA. We spend our free time routing wainscoting and chasing a toddler away from power tools. On the weekends, I often volunteer for Kids Building Things, a local non-profit organization that teaches underprivileged youth basic engineering concepts.My diverse career experience has ranged from manufacturing engineering of medical ultrasound equipment at Sonosite, Inc., to the many different design engineering tasks I have been involved in at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) over the past eight years.

Cognizant Engineer, Remote Sensing Mast (RSM)Mars 2020 ProjectMarch, 2015 – Present

The Mars 2020 RSM is an evolution of the mast that flew on the Curiosity Rover. It provides an articulating platform that interfaces with eight science instruments. The head-mounted instruments are pointed via a two-axis gimbal.

My role involves leading a team of two support engineers, two designers, and an analyst to design the RSM, with an expected delivery in 2018. I am responsible for generating requirements and interface definitions, producing design review content, and overseeing hardware development. I also manage cost accounts, budget estimates, workforce plans, and detailed schedules.

Images: 1. Curiosity Rover on Mars.2. RSM on Curiosity Rover.

Note: The Mars 2020 RSM is currently in development, and no RSM images have been cleared for public release. The images shown are of the MSL RSM.

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Cognizant Engineer, Inflation Aid (IA) AssemblyLow Density Supersonic Decelerator ProjectOctober, 2013 –March, 2015

The IA is a mechanically-actuated pyrotechnic device designed to disperse a methanol solution in to the interior of a ballute. The device assists the inflation of the ballute under high-altitude supersonic flight conditions.

I designed and managed delivery of the device at NASA TRL 7+. I prepared all analyses and design review content, produced drawings and procedures, managed the hardware fabrication, assembly, qualification and V&V testing.

Images: 1. CAD Renderings of IA showing internal

components.2. IA deployment on LDSD Supersonic Flight

Dynamic Test. A video of the test can be found here.

Additional information on the IA can be found in my AIAA publication here, and my NASA Tech Brief here.

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Cognizant Engineer, Parachute Design Verification (PDV) TestbedLow Density Supersonic Decelerator ProjectJune, 2012 –October, 2013

The PDV testbed is a new venue for load testing of parachutes that are too large for existing wind tunnels. The test architecture applies up to 200,000 pounds of force to a parachute using a rocket sled at the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, CA.

I designed and managed delivery of a 300 hp high-speed winch and 250,000 lb capacity pyrotechnic release device. I produced analyses, drawings and design review content, supervised fabrication, assembly, and subsystem testing.

Images: 1. Release device CAD section view.2. Functioning 1/5 scale prototype.3. Hydraulic Winch Assembly.4. Load Plate Assembly.5. Nighttime test preparations for PDV test. A video

of the test can be found here.Additional information on the PDV testbed can be found in my AIAA publication here.

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Support/Testbed Engineer, Sample Handling TestbedMars Science Laboratory (MSL) ProjectOctober, 2011-June, 2012

The MSL Sample Handling Testbed used material analogs and instrument models to characterize the behavior of martian rocks in the Rover’s sampling instruments.I designed instrument simulators and sampling hardware for the testbed. I produced, tested and tuned the hardware to match the flight and qualification design performance.

Images: 1. CAD model of the Curiosity Rover’s turret,

highlighting the internal sieve hardware.2. In-situ image of the sieve hardware on Mars.3. Modal analysis of the flight sieve hardware design

determined via FEA.4. Modal analysis of the testbed sieve hardware

used to tune the design to match the flight hardware characteristics.

Additional information on the testbed hardware development can be found on the NASA technical reports server here.

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Support Engineer, Assembly, Test and Launch Operations (ATLO)Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) ProjectFebruary, 2010-October, 2011

As a member of the ATLO team, I developed, characterized, and calibrated mass properties measurement equipment for tests on flight vehicles. I managed metrology and calibration of the remote sensing cameras on the Curiosity Rover, integrated hardware, and supported environmental testing at JPL and Kennedy Space Center.

Images: 1. Mass properties measurement of the MSL Cruise

Stage using a turnover fixture.2. Mass properties measurement of the MSL

Descent Stage using a spin table.3. Calibration of the Rover cameras using optical

fiducials and metrology via laser tracker.

A video of me explaining mass properties and their measurement can be found here.

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Cognizant Engineer, Mechanical Ground Support EquipmentMars Science Laboratory (MSL) ProjectSeptember, 2008-February, 2010

As a member of the ground support equipment team for MSL, I designed and delivered various pieces of test and support equipment. The hardware included a posable rover chassis testbed, fixtures for system-level random vibration testing, and fixtures for system-level thermal vacuum testing.

Images: 1. MSL Spacecraft suspended in thermal-vacuum

chamber2. MSL Descent Stage undergoing random vibration

testing.3. MSL RSM and Robotic arm undergoing

functional testing on Rover chassis surrogate and hexapod.

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