The Overview — Navigating
Fueling the next generation of aerospace engineers
Navigating
Planning and directing the route or course of a ship, aircraft, or other form of transportation, especially by using instruments or maps.
Welcome back to The Overview! This week’s edition is packed with exciting updates and insights into aerospace engineering. From the intricacies of GPS technology to the latest commercial space launches, we have you covered. Here’s what’s in store:
🛰️ Sukrut’s deep dive into GPS technology: Discover how ultra-precise positioning is revolutionizing our world. Learn about the evolution of navigation, the science behind GPS, and its critical role in various industries.
🎙️ Podcast announcement!!! We’re thrilled to launch our new podcast series with our first episode! Tune in for engaging conversations with leading experts in aerospace, cutting-edge research discussions, and stories from the front lines of innovation.
🚀 Latest in aerospace news: Catch up on the major happenings in the commercial space industry. Boeing’s Starliner is delayed again, SpaceX gears up for the fourth launch of Starship, and Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser is delivered to NASA for final preparations.
🚀 Featured Technology
Humanity’s Journey Toward Precise Navigation
What do drones zipping past skyscrapers, self-driving cars ruling the roads, and robots autonomously completing tasks have in common? They all rely on ultra-precise positioning.
A few weeks ago, Sukrut Oak, a junior at Stanford, gave a talk about improving navigation and GPS technology to a room full of experts. His fascination with ultra-precise positioning stems from its potential to revolutionize technologies such as self-driving cars and autonomous drones. Join Sukrut as he dives into the world of navigation, exploring:
The evolution of navigation, from ancient techniques to modern GPS technology
What exactly is GPS?
Insights into the future of navigation gained from leading experts and cutting-edge research at the Institute of Navigation conferences
The importance of navigation technology and ways to contribute to this dynamic field
Read Sukrut’s full article to dive deeper into all this and more!
🗞️ Aerospace News
Two big events for the commercial space industry are coming up soon: Boeing’s first launch of NASA astronauts on board Starliner and SpaceX’s fourth launch of Starship.
Boeing’s Starliner was chosen by NASA alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in 2015 for the commercial crew program. However, Starliner has been plagued by delays and technical issues since then, while Crew Dragon has safely launched multiple crews to the ISS and back. Starliner was nearly ready to launch several times in the past few weeks, but several issues (most recently a small helium leak) have moved the expected launch date to no earlier than May 25th.
On the other hand, Starship continues to make good progress toward its next orbital flight and reentry attempt. You’ll recall that last time Starship gave us some incredible live images of plasma forming around the ship during reentry before breaking up in the atmosphere. SpaceX hopes to get closer to flight milestones, including burning Raptor engines in orbit and landing both stages back on Earth (preferably in one piece).
In other news, Sierra Space and NASA have delivered the Dream Chaser spaceplane to NASA Kennedy for final preparations before its first-ever launch later this year. Dream Chaser is a winged, reusable spacecraft that can land on commercial runways! It has spent the past year going through rigorous testing at NASA facilities before it arrived this week at Kennedy Space Center. Hopefully, we get to see this epic spacecraft fly before the year is out!
📢 Podcast Ep. 1 is Out!!!
In the first episode of our new podcast series, join Tagg, Anshuk, Maggie, and Isaac as they share their journeys into aerospace, what excites them about The Overview, and what listeners can expect from the podcast series. While this episode features just the four of us, you can look forward to guest appearances in future episodes.
Shoutout to Harry Zhao for editing and producing the podcast! Give it a listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Youtube, or Substack. Subscribe to keep updated on the podcast!
🔗 Aerospace Book Recommendations
Here’s a database of Deep Tech startups to keep your eye on as you look to find your dream job.
Looking for more space-related news? Here are some links to Eric Berger and Michael Sheetz, two of our favorite space journalists.
💬 Quote of the Week
"When I orbited the Earth in a spaceship, I saw for the first time how beautiful our planet is. Mankind, let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!”
— Yuri Gagarin, Russian Cosmonaut
Thanks for reading The Overview—The Navigating edition. We hope you found this week's stories insightful and inspiring. Stay tuned for more updates and deep dives into aerospace engineering!
We'd love to hear your voices—if you have any crazy stories, fun technical content, or cool experiences you'd like to share, apply to write using this form. As always, feel free to reach out at admin@theoverview.org with any feedback or requests for topics you’d like to see in the future.
Stellar vibes,
Sukrut, Harry, Tagg, Anshuk, Maggie, Isaac