NASA Hispanic Heritage Month Employee Profile - Claudia Herrera - Armstrong Flight Research Center

TL;DR

Claudia Herrera, an aerospace engineer at NASA, discusses her work in ground testing and the Flight Loads Lab, emphasizing the importance of education and her involvement in projects like the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) to make airplanes more efficient.

Transcript

[ Music ] >> Okay, close two-one, two-two, and two-three valves on the box. Okay, let's perform a walk-around of the test setup. I work in the Structural Dynamics Group. We're a little bit catawampus again. Yeah, can we verify this? This should be about three-eighths. And, what I do is a variety of things, such as ground testing and analyses to sup... Read More

Key Insights

• 🛟 Claudia Herrera, an aerospace engineer, emphasizes the importance of education in her life and career.
• 🛝 Ground testing and analyses are crucial for evaluating aircraft structure behavior for safe flights.
• 😘 Claudia's involvement in the ACTE project highlights the efforts to make airplanes more efficient with compliant wing surfaces.
• 💆 The Flight Loads Lab conducts various tests, including ground vibration and mass properties, to ensure the safety and performance of aircraft.
• 🏃 Claudia finds balance and mental clarity through distance running.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is Claudia Herrera's role as an aerospace engineer at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center?

Claudia Herrera works in the Structural Dynamics Group and is involved in ground testing and analyses to evaluate the vibration behavior of aircraft structures for safe flights.

Q: How does education play a significant role in Claudia's life and career?

Claudia mentions that education was taught to be very important to her from a young age. Growing up in poverty, she recognized that education was her ticket to a better future, motivating her to pursue engineering.

Q: What is the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) project Claudia mentions?

ACTE is a project focused on creating and designing compliant wing surfaces for more efficient aircraft. Claudia expresses excitement about this project and its potential impact on improving airplane efficiency.

Q: Besides ground testing, what other types of tests does Claudia conduct in the Flight Loads Lab?

In addition to ground vibration tests, Claudia also oversees mass properties tests. Examples of projects she has worked on include the Orion crew module, where extensive ground testing was conducted.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Claudia Herrera, an aerospace engineer at NASA, conducts ground testing and analyses to support safe flights by evaluating the vibration behavior of aircraft structures.

• She shares her background and how education was a way out of poverty for her, inspiring her to pursue a career in engineering.

• Claudia discusses her involvement in projects like ACTE, which aims to design and create compliant wing surfaces for more efficient aircraft.