NASA Engineers at Yuma International Host Students to Discuss Orion

Engineers from NASA and Jacobs Engineering hosted students this week from Cibola, Yuma and San Luis High Schools for a tour of their hangar at Yuma International Airport, to discuss the space agency's Orion Program and the work they are conducting in Yuma.  The tours occurred on Monday, January 23rd and Tuesday, January 24th. The students are involved in the University of Arizona - Yuma High School Engineering Program.

Students gather in front of the Jacobs/NASA facility at Yuma International Airport.

The University of Arizona began offering Engineering 102 in an effort to introduce high school students to college-level engineering and to give math-and-science savvy students hands-on experience before they commit to a university engineering program.  The high school program is based on the Engineering 102 class that freshman engineering students take at the UofA.

Inside the NASA hangar.

NASA’s Capsule Parachute Assembly System team has been performing parachute drop tests at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Grounds since 2007 to support the design and development of the capsule descent and landing parachute system to support the Orion flight tests and first human flight.

While they’ve been testing in Yuma since 2007, NASA didn’t have a permanent home until the airport built the Pappy Boyington hangar in 2009.  Since basing themselves in the hangar, the NASA and Jacobs Engineering team are ahead of schedule.

“Since the NASA and Jacobs engineers are here for six months out of the year, Yuma is like a second home for them and we’ve built an amazing relationship.” said Gen Grosse, airport spokesperson.   “We also participate in a variety of educational programs within the community.  When NASA expressed interest in sharing their knowledge and experience with our local students, we knew it would be an experience of a lifetime.  It's exciting for the students to see what a wide variety of options lies in their future.”