At USC LPL, graduating master’s student Jose Hernandez helps to oversee complex propulsion tests that demand precision, coordination and constant vigilance. (Photo/Emily Hesby )
At USC Viterbi’s Liquid Propulsion Lab (LPL), Jose Hernandez is helping prepare rocket engines for the moment they come alive.
Hernandez, who is graduating in May with a master’s degree in astronautical engineering, helps to oversee complex propulsion tests that demand precision, coordination and constant vigilance. He works across teams to ensure systems are ready, diagnoses anomalies when they are not, and refines the processes that keep high-risk testing environments running smoothly. In March, LPL received an award titled “Frequent Fire” from the Everyday Astronaut for its record 10 engine static fires in the year 2025. Hernandez served as the operations and safety lead for the last two campaigns at the Reaction Research Society test site in the Mojave Desert.
The work is both technical and personal to him.
“I’ve always been motivated by the idea that there’s a better way to do things, whether that’s how a system is designed or how a team operates,” he said. “I like being in environments where the stakes are high and the problems are hard, because that’s where you’re forced to grow and really understand what you’re doing.”
