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Engineer designs satellite controls
Monday, February 26, 2001
The dawn of the 21st century is an exciting time for astronomers and space scientists. As we push farther into the cosmos, we learn more about our universe every day and realize how much more there is to be discovered.
Aprille Ericsson-Jackson is part of the new crop of young scientists and engineers who hope to lead the way to those discoveries. Ericsson-Jackson is an aerospace engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, where she helps develop mechanical systems for manned and unmanned spacecraft.
Ericsson-Jackson was born and raised in the projects of Bedford-Stuyvesant in New York City. She first developed an interest in math and science during junior high school. She began to add the science club and science fair to her many extracurricular activities, which already included basketball and softball. She has said that she sometimes found herself the only black or female student involved in science projects; that fact spurred her to work harder.
Her efforts paid off, and Ericsson-Jackson went on to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she earned a bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering. She then moved on to Howard University, where she earned a master's degree and doctorate in mechanical engineering. She funded her education through awards, grants and fellowships, including one from NASA.
While at NASA, she has worked on manned Mars mission plans. Her work focuses on attitude control systems -- the systems that allow the orientation and motion of these machines to be controlled. Ericsson-Jackson says that someday she'd like to test out her systems in person -- as an astronaut.
-- By John G. Radzilowicz, director, Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium & Observatory
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