Tracking

Tess Hatch

Fictiv Growth Intern. I'm working towards my Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering at Stanford and love everything about space.

All articles from the author

Article

To Infinity and Beyond: 3D Printed Parts Made in Space

You just spent the last six months traveling to the red planet, Mars. You sit down for your first meal and you reach down to pick up your fork…but you realize you forgot it! Rather than waiting months or possibly years for the next group of people and supplies to come, you can simply upload […]

Teardown

Keurig B130 Coffee Brewing System Teardown

Ever wonder how your coffee is made in the morning? Well, if you’re one of those 121 million people who own a Keurig, we tore down the B130 single-cup brewing system to find out! This Keurig is 11”H x 7”W x 10”D and weighs 6.5 lbs. First, we took out the tray that contains the […]

Article

Satellite 101: What is a CubeSat?

Imagine a box in space that’s about the size of a long tissue box and capable of taking pictures of the Earth. That’s exactly what Planet Labs is doing: They’re using a 3U (a 10×10×34 cm CubeSat) called a Dove that takes pictures of the Earth to learn how daily imagery helps one move from […]

Article

What is DMLS, and Why is it Taking over Aerospace?

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), a fancy way of 3D printing metal, is the new trend in aerospace engineering. DMLS uses a Ytterbium fiber laser to fire into a bed of powdered metal, welding the material together to create a solid structure. It’s great for complex metal parts that you can’t build with conventional manufacturing […]

Article

Problem-Solving for R&D

Why was Boeing’s 747 such a huge success, while BAC’s Concorde is currently out of commission? It’s because Boeing thoroughly researched their target market before developing their product, while BAC jumped right to the development, skipping the research. Boeing’s research revealed the need for a plane that could carry more passengers, while BAC incorrectly assumed […]