Andrew Churchill

Skills

What I work with, from mission-level requirements down to a soldering iron. Most of my week goes to synthetic aperture radar spacecraft — writing and verifying requirements, running analysis, and shepherding flight hardware through assembly and test. The rest of this list comes from a machine shop course, running a photography business, and a lot of evenings spent building things that fly.

Spacecraft & Systems Engineering

  • Systems engineering, requirements specification, verification
  • Flight/space environment requirements, mass modelling
  • Assembly, integration and test (AIT); test planning
  • Flight hardware procurement and subcontractor coordination

Mechanical Design

  • SolidWorks CAD, design for manufacture, 3D printing
  • Structural and thermal analysis (basic resistance thermal modelling)
  • CNC machining; manual lathe, vertical mill and drill press operation
  • Engineering drawing interpretation and process planning
  • Precision machining and metal cutting, soldering, hand assembly

Electronics & Controls

  • Arduino, power distribution and voltage regulation design
  • PID tuning, ArduPilot, sensor integration
  • BetaFlight / FPV system configuration, LiPo battery safety

Media

  • Event, portrait, architecture and wedding photography
  • Video production and editing

Certifications

  • Transport Canada Pilot Certificate — Small Remotely Piloted Aircraft (VLOS), Part IX
  • EIT (Engineer-in-Training)