Career in NASA
Rodriguez enrolled in the University of Alabama to pursue a masters degree. While pursuing his masters, Rodriguez moved to Florida and worked on jet engines for NASA contractor Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies company. He earned his masters degree in mechanical engineering in 1982. In 1997, he earned his doctorate in civil engineering, from the University of Mississippi.
Rodriguez was the leader of the Solid Rocket Booster accident investigation team following the Space Shuttle Columbia accident in February 2003 and was also the project manager for the Space Launch Initiative program. Rodriguez is currently the Director of the test laboratory in the Engineering Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. He is responsible for the engineering services and facilities for environmental, structural, and propulsion testing of NASA programs assigned to the Marshall Space Flight Center. Among his duties are: research, development, qualification, and acceptance testing of critical space and flight hardware, as well as the testing of relevant development hardware.
Read more about this topic: Pedro Rodriguez (NASA)
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