Still Building America: How one woman is influencing how we weld in space

In this episode of Still Building America, we speak with Amourette McDonagh, who shares her passion for energy harvesting and welding in space concepts, and how the Mooresville, NC-based welder went from NASCAR to NASA.

While earning her associate degree in welding technology, a basic research project for a NASA scholarship turned into something much bigger than she imagined. McDonagh’s research was sent to the International Space Station’s welding department at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

In 2021, a representative from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center called McDonagh to tell her that they liked some of her ideas about welding in space and invited her to attend the OSAM (On-orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing) Workshop. That led to her getting military clearance to visit Redstone Arsenal, a U.S. Army post and census-designated place (CDP) near Huntsville, to observe some behind-the-scenes practices and their process of welding rockets.

“Most of those things I can’t even talk about,” she said during the interview. “I never thought in million years this would happen to me.”

And then after just three years of field welding experience working with a NASCAR Cup Series race team Stewart-Haas Racing, McDonagh accepted a severance package after a massive round of layoffs.

“I took that as a sign,” said McDonagh, who took her side-project Black Moon Space Technology and established it as a full-time business with the hope of landing an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant from NASA. “I did (the research project) on whim, so it’s crazy that I’ve gotten this far.”

Working with some strategic partners, her goal is to further her research and development for satellite debris recycling and building structures in Earth’s lower orbit.

Watch as she explains how she’s devoted to uncovering answers to some very big questions about welding in space.