ScienceMaster - Aerospace Engineer Aprille Ericsson's Work At NASA


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AEROSPACE ENGINEER - GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
Aprille Ericsson, Ph.D.

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Dr. Aprille Joy Ericsson
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Guidance, Navigation & Control Center

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ERICSSON'S WORK AT NASA
Picture a figure skater spinning on ice. When she pulls her arms in close to her body, she spins faster. When she holds her arms away from her body she slows down. The skater's mass is distributed differently; therefore changing her inertia. Since momentum must be conserved, the skater's rotational speed must change to conserve momentum.

skater Now, think of holding your hand out a car window while the car is moving. There is a pressure against your hand, forcing it back. This is one of the laws of aerodynamics.

These two examples are exactly what happens to a spacecraft when it is in orbit. Someone has to study these forces and know exactly how they will effect the space craft’s orbit. That someone is Dr. Aprille J Ericsson-Jackson.

Normally, I work full-time as an aerospace engineer at the NASA GSFC in the Guidance Navigation & Control Center. Currently, I am detailed to work at NASA Headquarters under Mary Cleave, Deputy Administrator for Code Y, Earth Science Enterprise (ESE). She is a former astronaut/scientist who worked the SeaWifs project at GSFC. I am assigned to Code YF, the ESE Program Planning and Project Formulation group and matrixed to work jointly with Code YS, the ESE Science group. Initially, I was slated to work the Project Engineer/Manager side for the Climate Change Research Initiative. This project is in holding pattern until NASA is told how much financial support the Office of Management and Budget is willing to set aside for this initiative.

Another task, I am working on is to redesign our science data products distribution -EOSDIS to NEWDIS- which will be implemented for the NPOESS/NPP project. (EOSDIS is the current data network that has been set up to distribute data to the various science communities, agencies and international partners.) In addition, I am acting as Program Executive to the ICESat and SORCE missions. As P.E. I try to offer solutions to problems that may arise as the project works towards launch and act as liaison between NASA Headquarters management and NASA Center spacecraft/instrument group. Also, I am a member of the Code Y Outreach Policy group.

Prior to my detail position, I spent a year working in the Integrated Mission Design Center (IMDC). The IMDC is a high-paced, quick turn-around environment. In this facility in one 4-day week, a team of engineers from various disciplines, works together to design or enhance a spacecraft project scenario. The team studies and presents on the various aspects and tradeoffs of the mission. The disciplines include: Structural & Mechanical; Instrument Interface; Power & Electrical; Flight Dynamics (Orbit determination); Guidance, Navigation & Control; Thermal; Propulsion; Communications; Mission Assurance & Reliability; Command & Data, Handling; Ground Systems & Operations; Launch Vehicle Systems; and, Resources & Cost Estimating. My work as lead engineer for the Attitude Control Systems group required: determining the spacecraft operation modes; calculation of the environmental disturbances; actuator and sensor sizing; stability and dynamic-structural analysis; power, mass and cost budgets; and, feasibility studies.

LINKS OF INTEREST

Destination: Earth - The Official Website for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise

Code YF - Earth Science Enterprise: Missions

ICESat - (Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite)

SORCE - The SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment

IMDC - Integrated Mission Design Center

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