RED JENSEN

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Master UAS Technician

Educational Product

Educators & Students Lexile Level: 810-1000L

Level

2

Lexile Ranges

Level 1: Less than 810

Level 2: 810-1000L

Level 3: 1010-1200L

Level 4: 1210-1400L
Robert “Red” Jensen is a NASA researcher who does a little bit of everything.

Officially, Red works on small model airplanes at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center 

in California. Many people call these types of airplanes drones, and Red helps NASA learn all it 

can about operating drones. 

Red does a lot of his work at the Armstrong Model Lab. Inside you will hear 3D printers 

buzzing in one corner, and see shelves full of small drones, spare aircraft parts and raw materials 

that can be used to build new models.

Other members of Red’s team also work there. It’s the kind of place that when you walk inside 

and see everyone so busy and having fun, you’ll want to look for a screwdriver, strap on a pair of 

safety glasses, and join in by getting busy with some hands-on work.

You might think that a guy like Red, who is responsible for so much, and who works with for 

NASA, could only get his job after spending many years in college. 

You would be wrong.

It’s an important truth about life: Not everyone can be hired for their dream job by taking the 

same path when it comes to school. 

Yes, many who work for NASA went to college because that was the best way for them to learn 

what they needed to know to have careers in science, technology, engineering or math. 

ADVENT
Others might graduate from high school but decide to skip college and go right to work 

somewhere. Maybe they want to go to college at some point but are not ready. Or they may not 

be sure what they want to study yet. 

For Red, he wound up following his own journey when it comes to school and work. But he 

never strayed far from his love of flight that started at a young age when he flew model airplanes.

Red was always interested in building things and figuring out how things worked. Like many 

young people with those interests, he saw himself as growing up to become an engineer. 

But after beginning to study engineering in school, he decided that wasn’t for him. He needed to 

find a different way to get involved with aviation. 

Red took jobs where he could find them. He swept floors in an auto body shop, and learned 

to paint cars. He had a great eye for detail. That was something he learned by painting radio 

controlled airplanes he flew as his hobby.

When he needed parts or supplies for his hobby, he would go to the same hobby store and 

became a loyal customer. Red met the owner and became friends. When the owner decided to 

retire, he sold the hobby store to Red.

Running a small hobby shop was fun, but a lot of hard work too. Red used the money he earned 

to train to become a real pilot. At the same time, he started to work as a test pilot for a company 

that built drones, and wound up working there for ten years while he also ran his model shop. 

URE
His drone test pilot job often took him to Armstrong to fly his airplanes. While there he got to 

know the people who worked there, and they got know him. 

His expert model making skills soon became obvious to everyone. So, when an opportunity to 

join the NASA team and get paid to do the very thing he loved most came along, he applied 

for the job and won it.

Today, Red oversees many different projects in the Model Shop at Armstrong. He also manages 

the technicians and student interns who work there. They have never been busier. 

With millions of drones offered as holiday presents each year, and major companies wanting 

to deploy their own fleets of drones for jobs such as package delivery, new designs must be 

designed and tested. 

The drones needed to support that research often falls to Red and his team at Armstrong to build.

All of this activity means it is an exciting time for anyone interested in aviation, and Red is 

thrilled to be a part of it.

NP-2024-01-3226-HQ

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Headquarters

300 E. Street, SW

Washington, DC 20546

Educators! 

Guide/assessment files 

for this reader are at 

https://www.nasa.gov/

stem-content/

red-jensen/