In NASA’s First Step Back To The Moon After 50 Years, An Indian Woman Will Oversee A Crucial Part Of Launch | India News
“It has been almost 50 years since we last stepped on the moon … We are preparing to take humans back to the moon and beyond to Mars,” Iyer told TOI.
Artemis I will be an unmanned flight of the Orion spacecraft, the first of three complex exploration missions on the Moon and Mars. Orion will travel 280,000 miles (more than 4.50,000 km) from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon in a three-week mission. In that time, it will collect data as mission controllers review the performance of the spacecraft to set the stage for Artemis II, when a manned spacecraft will orbit the moon. Finally, in 2024, Artemis III will take astronauts to the moon.
As the leader of the Boeing Integrated Product Launch Team, Iyer is committed to the Artemis I component that will take Orion into space, the Space Launch System (SLS), the core stage of which arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in late April. . She has been involved with SLS for two years.
“SLS is the most powerful rocket in the world… Boeing is responsible for building the central stage of the rocket, which contains the main propulsion system and avionics (electronic systems). It is designed to run for about 500 seconds, reaching an altitude of 530,000 feet before separating. My role is to oversee any post-production support that NASA needs once the core stage is built and delivered to NASA, ”said Iyer. “The main parts of the Artemis I rocket have been built and tested separately. My Boeing team … will support NASA at Kennedy Space Center with assembly, integration and testing. We will also be monitoring data visualizations and providing support on launch day. ”The launch is scheduled for November of this year.
Iyer was one of the first women to graduate in mechanical engineering from her university, VLB Janakiammal College, in 1992. “I was the fourth group from my university with a degree in mechanical engineering and one of the first women to do so. When they placed me, I was the only woman in my group. They asked me to find another woman “for safety.” I had to convince a friend, ”he said.
Now, he leads a diverse team of mechanical and electrical engineers. “The SLS launch involves engineers who have been part of the human space exploration program for 30-40 years since the days of the shuttle. There are engineers who are new. I also have the pleasure of leading women and people from different countries, ”she said. “My manager, the director of production, test and launch, is a woman. Your manager, vice president of launch and space engineering, is too. NASA’s SLS Launch Director and NASA Stage Center Element Leader are women … It’s been great to see more women in the field. ”