About the Ames Engineering Directorate
The Ames Engineering Directorate (Code R) is the principal engineering organization for aerospace systems and spaceflight projects at NASA’s Ames Research Center, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, California.
Ames Engineering work includes the following:
- Innovative engineering
- Designing, developing, manufacturing, assembling, testing and operating complex mechanisms
- Avionics
- Materials research
- Instruments
- Systems in support of NASA missions and other government projects
The directorate performs engineering systems support for spaceflight, airborne and ground-based systems at Ames supporting the agency’s work in the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD), the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), and the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD).
Programs supported by the directorate include the Small Spacecraft Technology Program in STMD; airborne, space and earth science instruments, Discovery-, Explorer-, and Venture-class projects, and mission operations for SMD; evolving advanced space technology projects and advanced systems development in STMD; Advanced Exploration Systems, Human/Robotic systems, Bioengineering and other capability-driven programs being developed in HEOMD; the center’s innovative small sat research projects, in addition to a variety of NASA work agreements such as those with NASA’s Johnson, Kennedy, and Marshall centers to provide specialized engineering systems and technical support.
Laboratories, clean rooms, shops and engineering facilities are operated by the directorate in support of the projects being done at the center. Ames Engineering maintains strong relationships with other U.S. government agencies, industrial organizations and academic partners for the purposes of joint engineering research, development and technology collaborations.
