Former Kansas Citian and Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA) graduate Sophia Porter knows how hard rocket science truly is — she’s a BE-4 Propulsion Test Engineering Manager for aerospace company Blue Origin.
Porter, who has also interned with NASA and SpaceX, is one of few at the forefront of space propulsion.
Despite her current career, Porter, 24, wanted to be a paleontologist as a child. However, her interests in art and science began to collide in her teen years, with her main interest being astrophotography.
“I definitely always had a science streak in me,” Porter said.
One of her early mentors and inspirations was HBHA science teacher Cody Welton. Porter said she would have great conversations with him during passing periods as a student. They have connected a few times since she started her career, and she spoke to one of his sixth-grade classes.
“[Welton] was someone who really helped to foster my interest in science,” Porter said.
Upon graduation from Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Porter chose to attend Johns Hopkins University, a school with a 9% acceptance rate as of Fall 2020, with a goal of obtaining a Ph.D. in astrophysics. Porter said her parents, Carol and David Porter, were supportive of her ambitions.
Porter soon realized she was interested in space exploration. Moving to the East Coast to attend Johns Hopkins University gave her the opportunity to take physics courses, take arts courses at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and obtain professional opportunities, including giving the keynote address at the annual Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner in 2015.
In 2016, Porter received a $7,500 Woodrow Wilson Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program grant to pursue independent research about art, science and mathematics in the context of outer space.
Porter earned various other professional opportunities, including an internship at NASA as an International Space Station Intern in Washington D.C. Her internship duties included compiling a report to Congress on the future of the space station and summarizing NASA Inspector General audits of the Space Station program. At a conference she attended as an intern, she noticed Buzz Aldrin had taken a seat at a nearby table.
After NASA, Porter interned at SpaceX, where she performed certification testing for thermal control systems hardware for Dragon 2 spacecraft — partially reusable spacecraft that fly to the International Space Station.
When Porter started at XEEx (eXtreme Engine Experiment), home of the Blue Origin BE-4 reusable rocket engine in Texas, she was a Test Operations Engineer for approximately two and a half years. In her current role as a propulsion test engineering manager, Porter leads, represents and advises the team of propulsion and manufacturing engineers responsible for running tests on the engine.
“When you watch that engine fire, and you feel it through two sets of hearing protection, you feel it resonate in your body,” Porter said in a video about the engine for Blue Origin. “It’s just absolutely pure raw energy. To watch that happen in real time is absolutely inspiring.”
Leaving Kansas
Although it was difficult to leave Kansas City to achieve her dreams, Porter knew she had to, due to the lack of local aerospace industry jobs. She said it is always lovely to come home to Kansas City.
“There’s a very high standard of living and standard of care and just such a warm community,” Porter said. “I absolutely love that about Kansas City, and there are not many other places in the country that are like that.”
Porter is currently a resident of Van Horn, Texas, a town close to the western Texas border with about 2,000 residents. Porter is involved with the city government, and Van Horn City Council appointed Porter to join the Economic Development Corporation and collaborate with the mayor and other citizens to develop the city’s economy.
“I’ve come to really love small town life,” Porter said.
Mitzvot and Mentorship
Porter has also done mitzvot through Blue Origin by helping lead the development of the Launch Site One Employee Charitable Organization as its president since 2020. The organization’s mission is to bring Blue Origin Launch Site One employees together and help meet the needs of the Van Horn community through fundraising and acts of service.
In spring of 2021, the organization partnered with Blue Origin, Van Horn High School, Club for the Future and the Van Horn Economic Development Corporation to build the world’s first postbox to space. Blue Origin engineers and technicians met with junior and senior welding students to create a box for anyone to drop off a self-addressed and stamped postcard featuring their dreams for the future. The postcards flew to space aboard New Shepard on Oct. 13, 2021, before being mailed back to their senders.
As a Brooke Owens Fellow at Blue Origin, she was inspired to launch the Ask a Brookie program. Anyone can go to Brooke Owens Fellowship website and ask a Fellow (“Brookie”) about education or aerospace. They can then be matched with a Fellow for answers to specific questions or a mentor to help navigate the aerospace industry.
Individuals with questions for Porter can either request for her to answer in the inquiry box on the Ask a Brookie website or connect with her via LinkedIn.
Porter enjoys mentoring youth and has connected with students of all ages from all over the world. She said she tries to mentor at least one student each week.
“I absolutely would not have found my way here and would not have done it with confidence without many, many mentors who have been part of my life since I was young,” Porter said.
Porter wants to help others in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and aerospace industries as much as others have helped her. She says women are often underrepresented in STEM and that she will continue to advocate for women wanting to join the industry.
“I think my job won’t be done until the demographics of the industry represent the demographics of the United States and the world,” Porter said.
By Sophia Misle, Contributing Writer