The Suit Magazine

Consulting for the Aerospace Industry
David Scruggs is a veteran in the field of flight technology. Currently the owner and president of Advanced Technology Associates, Scruggs has been a consulting resource for major aerospace organizations since 1980, when he was personally appointed to NASA headquarters by President Jimmy Carter.

Since then, Scruggs has been building a body of expertise in the field, specializing in both hardware and software. After his time at NASA, he worked for a large aerospace firm for years and built a strong and loyal client base. In 1993, Scruggs decided he was ready to work independently, and founded the company that has been going strong for nearly two decades.

Advanced Technology Associates has provided services to NASA, several airports, and a growing body of private aerospace firms such as Lockheed Martin. The company has two major branches: consulting services—with a focus on systems engineering, controls engineering, software and propulsion—and software development, both customized and off-the-shelf. Their primary software product, the ATA Aerospace Toolkit, is a premier product for high-fidelity spacecraft flight simulations.

Although Scruggs maintains that aerospace in the United States is currently “at a very low point,” he gives sound advice to aspiring aerospace engineers. “It is a challenging industry, especially since a lot of universities teach the tools but not the basics of how to use them. You need to learn the software behind the tools, and not just the tools themselves.”  A deep base of knowledge is essential in this industry, and no one knows it better than Scruggs. He is committed to a lifetime of learning, staying ahead of new technologies and constantly adjusting to the needs of his clients.

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