Birth: 1984
Specialty: Aerospace Engineering
Major Contributions:
Lead systems engineer, flight controller for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter operations
Launch support for Juno spacecraft
JPL Solar System Ambassador
Image Via Christine Edwards LinkedIn
When Christy Edwards was in the fifth grade, she watched an IMAX movie on the space shuttle. Sitting in the theater, feeling the roar of the rocket engines and imagining how it felt for the astronauts on that flight, she decided that she wanted to be a space explorer.
To get started, Edwards earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT, she worked at the MIT Space Systems Laboratory, where she developed and tested guidance, navigation, and control software, or GNC, on a miniature satellite project and started a research project to use mini satellites to inspect larger spacecraft for damage.
From there, Edwards became an engineer at Lockheed Martin, where she started by working on GNC simulations and began leading teams of engineers. She has contributed technically and in a leadership role on several space projects, including Mars Odyssey, GRAIL microsatellites, and the Pathfinder project, where she led use of model-based systems engineering and virtual reality environments to improve the approach to engineering.
In 2014, Edwards was featured in Aviation Week as one of the “Top 40 Under 40” in the aerospace industry. She continues to explore the solar system and in 2012, became a Solar System Ambassador for JPL, providing education and outreach on space science and technology – a role that she continues in today.
Currently, Edwards is a principal autonomy, AI research engineer and associate fellow in Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center working on the development of the Cognitive Mission Manager, an AI driven assistant for firefighter operations.
The author of twenty publications Edwards was featured on an episode of the Space Makers Podcasts and is a research associate at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Written by Nicole Hutchison
Sources:
NASA’s GRAIL Spacecraft Formation Flight, End of Mission Results, and Small-Satellite Applications
MIT Aero|Astro ENews: November 2014
NASA Solar System Ambassadors: Chrstine Edwards
Four AIAA Young Professionals Recognized by Aviation Week
Space Makers: Interstellar: Deep Space Travel
See Also:
Aviation Week: Christine Edwards Stewart
NASA: Solar System Ambassadors Program