From Sails to Solar Arrays

See how passion and engineering sail together at Northrop Grumman.

man in wheelchair looking at solar array

By Lauren Sarmir

Standing on the rocks at the base of the Santa Ynez Mountains, looking out onto the glittering Pacific Ocean, it’s easy to spot surfers, beach goers and a staple of these chilly waters, sailboats. Some Southern Californians seem to grow up on the water, and for Ryan Porteous, a Northrop Grumman mechanical engineer in Goleta, California, it was no different. Ryan grew up in San Diego sailing with his parents from the time he was born. At eight years old, he started learning how to race sailboats.

In 2016, Ryan represented Team USA at the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two years later, Ryan joined Northrop Grumman, where he brought the interest in technical problem solving and design that he had built throughout his sailing journey. Ryan found that his personal love of sailing aligned with his professional passion for engineering. The opportunity to bring these passions together at Northrop Grumman has been serendipity. He works with mission-critical deployable hardware, similar to a sail, that can fold into compact containers the size of a refrigerator, then expand to diameters and widths as wide as a school bus or pickleball court.

It’s been cool applying my passion for design and problem solving across multiple disciplines, from the technical aspects of sailboat racing to the innovation I get to do at Northrop Grumman, where I problem solve every day, creating some of the most complex moving mechanisms in space. Once an engineer, always an engineer.

— Ryan Porteous

Mechanical Engineer, Northrop Grumman

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Conquering Challenges

When Ryan was 18, he suffered a spinal cord injury that resulted in him being paralyzed from the chest down.

“The injury had a huge impact on my life. I had just gone off to college and now needed help with the simplest tasks. It was tough, and I had a lot of questions about what the rest of my life might look like,” said Ryan. “When I was in the hospital recovering, I was doing research and came across the Paralympics and saw that there was sailing and I said, ‘Well, this looks awesome — I want to do that. Let’s get back on a boat.’”

While racing a sailboat, a sailor is constantly making small adjustments to the shape and angle of attack of the sails through various control mechanisms to optimize performance. Before the race even starts, the sailor extensively tests these various tuning adjustments in a variety of conditions. This is the best part for Ryan.

“I love the technical and innovative element that’s an integral part of sailboat racing,” he said. “Paralympic sailing epitomizes this, where specifically designed adaptations, changing boat to boat, allow anyone with varying disabilities to be just as competitive.”

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Deploying Science and National Security

That same engineering approach that Ryan uses in sailing is applied to deployable technology, like reflectors, booms, and solar arrays; different phases of design and testing are needed to ensure successful performance in the most challenging environments, like space.

Each aspect of deployable hardware has its own function, whether to provide a spacecraft with power output from a solar array, or to deploy science instruments off a satellite with a boom; a mission cannot happen without deployables. Much like various mechanisms on a race sailboat, the deployable hardware is optimized down to the last detail to increase performance and reliability while reducing mass.

“The complex mechanism problems we are tasked with solving make my work so rewarding. It’s exactly what I was looking for when I was considering a career in design and mechanical engineering,” said Ryan.

Northrop Grumman’s heritage in proven deployable technologies transcends nearly six decades of space exploration and national security mission support. From the largest reflector NASA has ever deployed, to crucial UltraFlex™ solar arrays enabling cargo resupply for the International Space Station, to critical deployable booms supporting national security applications, to electronic warfare antennas to support the warfighter. The company’s deployable hardware is mission-making in part thanks to Ryan and his peers who engineer hardware enabling the toughest missions.

“It’s been cool applying my passion for design and problem solving across multiple disciplines, from the technical aspects of sailboat racing to the innovation I get to do at Northrop Grumman, where I problem solve every day, creating some of the most complex moving mechanisms in space,” said Ryan. “Once an engineer, always an engineer.”

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Summary:

Ryan Porteous, a Paralympian, blends his sailing passion with mechanical engineering at Northrop Grumman, designing deployable hardware vital for space missions.

Key Takeaways:

Northrop Grumman’s deployable hardware is critical for spacecraft power and functionality.
Northrop Grumman’s integrated engineering expertise delivers reliable deployable systems critical to complex space and defense missions.

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Your work at Northrop Grumman makes a difference. Whether you want to design next-generation aircraft, harness digital technologies or build spacecraft that will return humanity to the moon, you’ll contribute to technology that’s transforming the world. Check out our career opportunities to see how you can help define possible.

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