Aerospace systems internships

Write a requirement that can fail a test

Fictional desktop environmental logger: R1 requires at least 24 hours of operation; R2 allows total mass of at most 250 g; R3 requires one timestamped reading every minute. These are requirements. Choosing a battery or file format is a design choice intended to satisfy them.

A useful verification plan names the condition and the evidence: run the defined logging task for R1, weigh the complete proposed assembly for R2, and check the resulting records against the logging schedule for R3. The calculations below screen a concept. They are not completed physical tests.

A larger battery fixes duration but breaks mass

Assume the non-battery assembly weighs 120 g and average power draw is a constant 0.5 W. Battery A provides an assumed 12 Wh of usable energy and weighs 100 g. Modeled runtime is 12/0.5 = 24 hours; total mass is 220 g. It meets both numerical limits in this idealized calculation, with no duration margin.

Battery B provides 18 Wh and weighs 150 g. Runtime is 36 hours, but total mass is 270 g, exceeding the 250 g limit by 20 g. If R1 changes to 30 hours, A fails duration and B fails mass. Neither option meets the revised pair of requirements.

A proposed third option supplies 15 Wh at 120 g. The same model gives 30 hours and 240 g. It satisfies the two numerical limits but only if those usable-energy, mass and average-power assumptions are supported. You have identified what to verify, not established that such a component or physical design works.

For R3, define the sampling interval explicitly. Recording once per minute from t = 0 inclusive to t = 24 hours exclusive produces 1,440 scheduled records. Including a reading at exactly 24 hours adds a 1,441st record. A count check needs the endpoint convention, not just the phrase one day.

Trace the changed requirement to every affected check

An interview explanation can be brief: Raising runtime from 24 to 30 hours invalidated A. Choosing B solved duration but violated the unchanged mass requirement. I kept both requirements visible and identified a third modeled option whose inputs still needed evidence. Then I updated the duration and logging tests rather than reusing the old pass result.

Use your own project to show a requirement, the design decision and the verification record. Ask whether the internship concentrates on a subsystem, cross-component integration or test evidence. Do not describe a desktop exercise as flight-qualified or safety-certified work.

Before you apply

Eligibility

NASA OSTEM lists U.S. citizenship, age 16 or older at application and a 3.0 GPA, with specified college enrollment or recent-graduate conditions. Pathways has separate criteria.

Timing

NASA lists Summer 2027 OSTEM applications due February 26, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Its Spring 2027 deadline, September 14, 2026, has already passed.

Location

Use the actual NASA project or employer site and attendance arrangement, not the organization's headquarters location.

Pay

NASA says most OSTEM interns receive a stipend based on educational level and session. Compare the actual award, duration and additional living costs with any hourly offer.

Sources: NASA internship programs · Boeing internships

Job titles to search

Systems engineering intern

Ask which requirements, interfaces or trade studies you would support.

Integration intern

Ask which components need to interact and which mismatch the team is investigating.

Verification or test intern

Ask which measurable requirement your test evidence would address.

Where to look

Search routes, not confirmed vacancies.

Compare the work and try an example

Use a role comparison or worked exercise to choose your preparation before tailoring an application.

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