On May 10 Lane Fischman’s Advanced Physics class took a tour of one of SpaceX’s California offices. SpaceX is an American company that strives to produce a rocket without utilizing foreign resources. It also plans to cut the price of launches by using reusable and environmentally-friendly material, according to the company website.

Fischman’s goal with this outing was “to expose the students in the Advanced Physics class and the Engineering and Design class to one of today’s most interesting companies that utilizes the content from those classes in real world applications.”

The class learned about the history of the company and rocket assembly. At the warehouse, the class saw different rocket parts; some rockets had already ventured into space, and others were being prepared for future launches.

The SpaceX tour guides showed the class 3D printers and other cutting edge technologies used in making rockets. Tour guides also expressed SpaceX’s interest in creating opportunities for women.

When reflecting on the field trip, Fischman said, “I consider the trip a huge success. Also, three students, who had done a project on Faraday cages earlier in the year, became very excited when they found out that SpaceX had one three stories tall and being used for the exact purpose they had done their study on, blocking electromagnetic signals from going out or into the sensitive equipment in the dragon capsule.”

Featured Image: Archer girls visit SpaceX office. Image taken by SpaceX employee.