Graduate of Mechanical Civil Engineering participates in ULS discussion and announces NASA project that will take man to the moon

The former ULS student is working in the discipline of aeronautics on NASA projects; He is working on a mission that will take place in 2024 and that, for the first time, will take a woman to the natural satellite.

The Mg. Cristian Cortés has a degree in Mechanical Civil Engineering from the ULS Faculty of Engineering and is currently the only Chilean working at Sierra Nevada Corp. NASA United States, who was present at the conversation held via Zoom from “La Serena a la Luna” from the ULS. The activity was moderated by the coordinator of the Scientific Communication Nucleus, Dr. Marcela Gatica and had the participation of Dr. Ing. Mauricio Godoy, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

In this sense, the ULS graduate made known to the community of the University of La Serena how he took the leap in his career, what his experience of living and working in the United States has been like, his work experience and the new challenges he faces. has in aeronautics. The conversation can be reviewed at the following link https://bit.ly/37k5Aam.

In 1999, Cristian Cortés traveled to the United States to study English and then decided to pursue a Master's degree at San Diego State University. He currently works at NASA and his work consists mainly of reviewing the technical safety of the rockets of the mission that will take humanity back to the Moon, in the first two instances a trip will be made around the natural satellite; so that in 2024 the Artemis mission will be carried out, which for the first time will take a woman to the moon.

The Mg. Cristian Cortés, ULS Mechanical Civil Engineer, Sierra Nevada Corp. NASA United States, regarding his experience abroad, indicated that “I am very proud of where I come from and the great training that the University of La Serena gave me. I am currently a member of the “Dream Chaser Spaceplane” and “Space Launch System” projects, the first is a shuttle that moves cargo between earth and space; the second is a spacecraft with the capacity to send astronauts to the moon. My job is to help ensure that the structure we design supports the loads during the flight ascents and the entire mission, which is why each piece, each millimeter of the structure must be checked very rigorously.”

In the instance, Dr. Ing. Mauricio Godoy, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, stated that “it is truly a joy and an honor to be in this conversation with a former student of the Faculty of Engineering, Mr. Cristian Cortés, who has had an outstanding career in the disciplinary field and also personally. We appreciate that today he dedicated this moment to us to talk and transmit his experience as one of ours. We remember him very well and we are proud that today he is in a distant country and doing what many engineers dream of.”

Cristian Cortés, addressed the current and future students of ULS Mechanical Civil Engineering, indicating that “they must learn finite elements very well, this is very important when I studied it was given a lot of importance and they have served me a lot in my professional career. Like all data analyses, since thanks to these we can predict how the structures of airplanes and rockets will behave, for example when they experience material fatigue. Everything I do today is thanks to the University, that is why I invite you to learn mechanics not only for tests and classes, but also to know the theory and try to replicate the knowledge and learning in other areas.

Written by María José Barraza, FIULS 2030 Project