Former Firefly Aerospace Intern and Texas Rocket Engineering Lab Lead Launch Vehicle Engineer, Vishnu Selvakumar, AMA!

What was it like for your first launch?

My first launch was amazing. We worked on a rocket all semester with the Longhorn Rocketry Association, and over the summer we watched it go up, watched the parachutes deploy and the rocket safely return to the ground. It was such a cool experience and I can't wait to start launching bigger vehicles with TREL!

What is your endgame by studying rockets/ aerospace? NASA I assume?

Wanted to add I grew up right outside Austin in the hill country and loved going to Austin. 6th street and soco are a good time.

Eventually, I want to do something that will benefit humanity as a whole. I've talked a lot about being an astronaut for a long time, but the work they're doing is ultimately to help us understand more about our world and our universe, and to find out what we can be doing better down here.

I'd love to work at NASA, but private industry would be pretty great too! I'm really enjoying my work right now at Firefly Aerospace, which is a small space launch vehicle company right outside of Austin. I've already gotten to do some really cool stuff there (which I can't go into too much detail about—ITAR regulations!)

Cool to hear that you're from the area! I'm really missing those Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits and the food on Guad in quarantine right about now.

What got you interested in rockets?

The shuttle program and the Apollo program inspired so many people around the world to try new things and to push the limits of the human experience. I think that really influenced me when I was young. It's such a unique field and I was really excited to be a part of something like that!

If you could design your own dream spacecraft, with no restrictions besides the laws of physics, what would it look like and what would it do?

WARP DRIVE, of course!

I think a big limitation of space travel right now isn't necessarily the technology or the spacecraft, but more about how humans will be able to withstand extended travel in space. Things like how will our vision and bone density hold up are important questions. If we could engineer something that would move us fast enough to avoid long-term space travel, but still be able to explore other places in the galaxy, I think that would be the biggest game-changer!

What are the main limits for building rockets at student level?

At a student level, I would say the main limit to building rockets is the lack of proper documentation. At the Texas Rocket Engineering Lab (TREL), this is something that we are always trying to emphasize. Rockets can take a very long time to design, build, and test. The biggest thing that keeps people from being able to launch them is people graduating with their knowledge and experience only in their head. By documenting failures, successes, design criteria etc., a project has a better chance of outliving the people that created it and actually being completed.

What movie/media portrayals of your work are most true to life so you think?

Forgetting about rocketry for a moment, a movie which resonates with the work I do is Ford vs. Ferrari. In the movie, Ken Miles (the Ford driver), stays up late to tinker with parts in the racecar to bring the car to its highest potential, for nights on end The grind it takes to really improve something is something found in every industry but is very prevalent in the rocket business. The pay-off comes when you see something you built or contributed to do its job. That feeling of fulfillment is what motivates me through the hardest part of the grind the same way it probably did for Ken. The passion, hustle, and drive 📷 seen in Ford vs. Ferrari matches my feelings when I’m working on rockets.

How many times have you caught yourself saying "It's not rocket science!" when it was, in fact, actual rocket science?

I don’t think I’ve ever said that (and meant it seriously). The beauty of the rocket industry is in its diversity. Sure, you might need engineers to design your engines, but you also need lawyers to make sure you’ve got your FAA clearances ,artists to inspire the public to really understand the purpose behind a mission, and businessmen to get the money you need. So, the next time you say “It’s not rocket science!” about something…it probably is.

What do you hope for the industry in general over the next 20-30 years? Also, what do YOU specifically hope to be apart of or advance with Aerospace during your career?

I want to see the industry continue to increase human access to space while continuing to develop technologies that can improve life on Earth. I also hope that in 20-30 years, we have a better understanding of how space affects the human body with ways to mitigate any adverse conditions. I want humans to become the focus of space, not the rockets that get them up there.
If I can’t be one of the people that lands on the moon or Mars, I’ll make sure I have a part in making sure that someone else does and play a big role in making sure that happens. I like working on rockets because it’s the closest I can be to being an astronaut, but I’d be thrilled to work on any system that puts people on other celestial bodies. I’m inspired by the prospect of human’s exploring the vastness of space the same way Lewis and Clark were in their expedition across America.

What do you hope for the industry in general over the next 20-30 years? Also, what do YOU specifically hope to be apart of or advance with Aerospace during your career?

P.S. if you could have been born again and joined the aerospace field again, do you with you joined 30 years ago, now, or 30 years in the future?

I think now is a great time to be in aerospace! With the revival of the New Space industry and more conversations about human space exploration, there is a clear path forward for everyone in aerospace, and specifically rocketry. I’ve realized that my favorite part about working on rockets is the R&D required to get them working. With new concepts for landing humans on the Moon and Mars, I am super excited for the opportunity to build these projects from the ground up.

Do you think space tourism will available within the next century for regular people? Why/why not?

As much as I want it to happen, I do not think space tourism will be as available as a skiing trip or a Disney World vacation within the next century. Right now, it seems like the industry has a pretty good handle on rockets. Companies like SpaceX and Rocket Lab have proved that we can put things in space reliably, so I do not think this will be the limiting factor. It is the other infrastructure that still needs much more time to develop. For example, there are a lot of improvements that still need to be made to environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS). The first crew lived on the ISS 20 years ago, and there are still issues with removing CO2 from the air. As much as I love rockets, they are only a small piece of the puzzle. We have got a lot of work ahead us in supporting life for the masses in space.