Most children go through
the phase of obsession with
space. Whether they want to
be an astronaut, build a rocket
ship or study the stars in their
backyard, we all have this
innate desire to examine the
unknown. Alexander Cucos
was no exception.
Cucos’s interest in space
started when he was a child,
as many of us can relate to. In
an interview with The Daily,
Cucos shared that “I’ve always
been
interested
in
planes
and rockets and that sort of
thing, but what little kid isn’t
right?” But he never thought
he could make a career out
of his interest until he got to
high school. “I got this PC
game, Kerbal Space Program. I
taught myself some super basic
orbital
mechanics,
transfer
maneuvers between planets
and that sort of thing, from
Wikipedia in order to play it,”
said Cucos. “I thought ‘Huh,
I could totally do this for the
rest of my life.’”
Now he is an aerospace
engineering student at the
University, set to graduate
in 2020. His education at the
University has allowed him to
explore many different facets
of aerospace. “We have to
learn a little bit about circuit
design,
coding,
structural
analysis, control theory, and,
of
course,
aerodynamics,”
Cucos
said.
“It’s
basically
systems engineering with a
focus on things that fly.”
There is a wide variety of
classes offered to aerospace
majors, as they can focus on
one of two tracks: aeronautics,
the study of aircrafts, and
astronautics,
the
study
of
spacecrafts. They can take
everything from a hoverboard
design class to pilot training
classes. “I honestly think my
favorite class so far has been
my 300-level Aerodynamics
class,” Cucos said. “It’s super
cool to be able to take any
shape you want, and use math
to determine exactly how the
flow moves around it, and
what kind of forces are applied
to it. It kinda sounds geeky, I
know, but I think that stuff is
so cool.”
The
opportunities
his
education gives him span a
wide range of careers. “You can
work for the military on fighter
aircraft or missiles; you can
work for NASA on spacecraft
operation, orbital mechanics
or trajectory analysis; you can
design
commercial
aircraft
with a company like Boeing
or Airbus; you can go over
to a company like ULA and
design rockets; or you can
work on aerospace propulsion
systems, jets, rockets, electric
thrusters, that sort of thing,”
Cucos
explained.
“There’s
definitely
something
for
everybody.”
This past summer, he had
the opportunity to intern at
a company in Arizona called
Raytheon that primarily builds
missiles for the government.
Aside from a distaste for the
climate, Cucos found the job
fascinating. “I was working on
the Modeling, Simulation and
Analysis team, which basically
means I was coding holistic
software to simulate the entire
use cycle of the product” said
Cucos. “I can’t really say a
whole lot more than that,
because, you know, defense
contractor and all that, but
it was a very interesting
experience overall.”
With this experience under
his belt, Cucos has big dreams
for after college. “My dream is
to work at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL). They are
responsible for designing and
building all of the spacecraft
that NASA uses, such as
satellites, deep-space probes,
and
landers/rovers,”
Cucos
said. “Specifically, I would love
to work on extraterrestrial,
endo-atmospheric
vehicles,
things
that
fly
in
the
atmosphere of other celestial
bodies.”
Projects like these may seem
inaccessible to the public, but
aerospace engineering has so
much importance in everyday
life. “There are the obvious big
things, like the GPS satellites
that power your navigation
app, or the communications
satellites that let you watch
a rugby game in the UK from
your house,” Cucos elaborated,
“but one of the beauties about
NASA is that they often fund
the things that nobody else
wants to. NASA funding paid
for everything from Velcro to
solar panels. NASA funded the
invention of the digital image
sensor, which is the technology
found in every smartphone
camera. Every time you use
Snapchat? You’re using space-
grade technology!”
What makes the study of
space so special to Cucos is
the sense of unity it brings
to
everyone.
“Space
is
dangerous and exciting to
everyone,” Cucos exclaimed.
“Space
doesn’t
care
what
your nationality is, or what
your religion is; if you mess
up, it will kill you. It takes
all of us working together to
go to space and achieve great
things.” Sharing a fascination
with space helps bring us
together as a species. Whether
it’s working cross continent
to create a space station or
stargazing with friends, space
unites us in a way that is out of
this world.
Student Spotlight: Alex
Cucos and engineering
DANA PIERANGELI
Daily Arts Wrtier
DEF JAM RECORDINGS / SUE KWON
Music has always had an
obsession with space. From
David Bowie’s Major Tom
to
Soundgarden’s
“Black
Hole Sun” to even Claude
Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,”
the stars and what lies beyond
is a subject of fascination
and
admiration
for
many
musicians. Space is a mystery
to all of us, including those
who know it well. With every
passing day we learn more
about the fringes of our
solar system and everything
else in the night sky. It’s
understandable that so many
people
have
created
art
based on the worlds outside
our own.
But things have changed
since
Debussy
wrote
his
quintessential composition,
a time when people looked
at the sky without thinking
about actually going there. In
the age of missiles and SpaceX
and people selling seats on
luxury shuttles, space means
something different. It’s a
bigger expanse, one we can
potentially
see
ourselves
visiting. Our modern world
extends beyond the Earth
itself in so many ways —
in
big
data,
broadband
transmission,
Bluetooth,
radio, everything in between
— so why would we anchor
our artistic understanding
of
space
to
the
easily-
swallowable?
Now
this,
my
friends,
is why the Beastie Boys’s
“Intergalactic”
is
a
song
that makes the most sense
for space as we know it
today. Released in 1998 on
the
group’s
fifth
record
and arguably most artistic
interpretation of frat-boy-
rap, Hello Nasty, the song
finally made it out after
being shelved for previous
releases. It’s a crazy song,
combining
a
crunched,
synthesized
chorus
with
arrogant
and
hilarious
verses. From the moment the
track begins with a repeated
“Intergalactic,
planetary,
planetary, intergalactic,” the
listener knows they’re in for
something special.
The
sheer
loudness
of
“Intergalactic” mirrors the
saturation
of
enthusiasm
around
space
travel
and
exploration;
it
parallels
the craziness of eccentric
billionaires like Elon Musk
and
their
idiosyncrasies
perfectly. Each beat of the
drum-machine instrumental,
complete with samples from
both Rachmaninoff and The
Jazz Crusaders, fills your
brain completely, forcing out
all other thoughts for a full
acceptance of the groove.
You feel like you’re being
beamed somewhere, and not
somewhere you’re sure you
want to go. But still, the ride
is a whole lot of fun.
The Beasties even sample
themselves halfway through
the song, specifically “The
New Style” off Licensed to
Ill. “Beastie Boys known to
let the beat / mmmMMM…
drop!”
they
shout,
and
anyone listening can’t help
but sing along. The thing
that made the Beastie Boys
popular in the first place —
and gave “Intergalactic” a
Grammy in 1999 for Best Rap
Performance by a Group —
is their sheer brashness. If
anything could connect so
truthfully with the space
economy of today, it’s that.
They simultaneously make
fun of themselves and hype
themselves
up,
throwing
shoutouts to producer Mario
Caldato and each member in
turn. It’s pure, unadulterated
energy in song form, with a
beat fit to blast off.
So if you’re itching to
see the stars, annoyed with
the
Elon
Musk-Grimes-
Azealia Banks love triangle
or really just love Saturn,
“Intergalactic” is a perfect
song for you. The track is
spacey, yes, but it’s also
funny, angry and everything
in between. It captures the
frenzy of its original Y2K
era in addition to our own,
encapsulating the frenzied
overstimulation of each big-
boom decade with grace and,
of course, synthesizers. Hell,
put on the whole album if
you’re really feeling it — the
nastiness of our time is so
deep you might as well say
hello to it. You might even
find yourself in orbit.
Blasting off into orbit with
the Beastie Boys, of course
CLARA SCOTT
Senior Arts Editor
B-SIDE: MUSIC NOTEBOOK
FILE PHOTO / DAILY
What makes the study of
space so special to Cucos is
the sense of unity it brings to
everyone
B-SIDE: STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
The opportunities his
education gives him span a
wide range of careers
The sheer loudness of “Intergalactic” mirrors
the saturation of enthusiasm around space travel
and exploration; it parallels the craziness of
eccentric billionaires like Elon Musk and their
idiosyncrasies perfectly
The thing that made the
Beastie Boys popular in
the first place — and gave
“Intergalactic” a Grammy in
1999 for Best Rap Performance
by a Group — is their sheer
brashness
4B —Thursday, September 19, 2019
b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com