Alumna at Blue Origin worked on the New Glenn rocket that launched into space today

Three…Two…One…Liftoff!

All eyes are on Cape Canaveral today as the New Glenn rocket has launched into space. The rocket, made by Blue Origin, is carrying two twin probes as part of NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to learn more about the solar wind’s interaction with Mars and its magnetic environment.

Celebrating the fruit of her labors is alumna Denisse Aranda ’10, who works on the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket.

Aranda is a principal space systems contamination control engineer at Blue Origin. As a level 5 engineer, Aranda is recognized as a “subject matter expert,” a distinction achieved by less than 5% of the company’s engineers.

In her role, Aranda leads the team that keeps Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket and the cargo the rocket carries, as clean as they need to be before, during and after the launch. She’s the lead contamination control engineer for the 320-plus-foot New Glenn rocket, owning the end-to-end cleanliness plan for the rocket’s architecture and other flight hardware.

“The stuff we worry about is microscopic,” Aranda says. “If there is just a little bit of debris from the tanks, it could affect everything. I look at ways we clean anything that could cause contamination, how to quantify it, model it and predict it. When you’re talking about systems that are so complex and precise like our rocket engines, even small quantities of tiny particulates at high speeds and extreme temperatures, can make all the difference.”

Each mission requires a different level of cleanliness. The contamination sensitivity of the cargo — known as the “payload” — aboard each rocket depends on the mission profile and science goals. For example, payloads with star trackers and optics, like the James Webb telescope and deep-space observatories, tolerate almost no contamination. Dust accumulated on such lenses block and scatter light, acting much like smudged glasses. It could throw off the accuracy of data returning to scientists on Earth.  

Consequences of microscopic particles can also change the course of a mission. For something like a lunar lander — which is a spacecraft designed to land on the moon’s surface — bad optical data caused by contamination can push the lander outside a safe descent path and lead to a potential crash landing on the Moon.

As part of contamination control, Aranda also oversees planetary protection measures — an area she considers one of the most fascinating parts of her job.

Planetary protection involves making sure that microbes from Earth and space don’t cross-contaminate.

“We are protecting the planets and moon in our Solar System,” Aranda explains. “Essentially, we don’t want to get our Earth microbes, DNA and germs, and deposit them on other planets. That would be really problematic for the search of life in the universe”

How so? If spacecraft later gather samples of a planet’s microbes and discover Earth-like microbes, it could mistakenly lead scientists to believe that there are signs of life on other planets, when in reality it’s a contamination problem from an earlier mission.

Likewise, germs from other planets could impact the Earth’s ecosystem upon the spacecraft’s return if not properly cleaned. Aranda is one of the engineers working to make sure Earth and other planets remain safe from this kind of contamination.

“This dual focus on protecting other planets and our own is critical as space exploration continues to advance,” Aranda says.

As a bonus to her usual job, last year Aranda was a co-host of the live webcast of the New Glenn rocket's first launch into space. (Pictured here to the right are Aranda, right, and her colleague Ariane Cornell, vice president of New Glenn Strategy and Business Operations at Blue Origin, while webcasting the first launch). 

Giving back

Aranda loves her job.

“There’s just something to be said for work that has meaning in some way,” says Aranda. “We’re bigger than ourselves, our country, our affiliation. The stuff that we’re working on, I personally feel, benefits all of humanity.”

In fact, space research touches all of our lives — even if we’re not scientists.

“Everything you use every single day is because of space,” Aranda says. “GPS, satellite, weather updates. From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, you’re benefitting from these technological advances.”

Committed to her core goal of paying it forward, Aranda is also leading impact by inspiring the next generation of scientists. For eight years, Aranda has volunteered her time as the program director for Science Camps of America, a non-profit that hosts science-related, experiential learning summer camps for middle and high school students.

“It’s one of the most beautiful things,” Aranda says. “It’s a sleep-away summer camp in a Hawaiian island. We get students from all over the world. We take away their cell phones, and they spend the next days working on science. We have experts in a variety of areas that support our camp, including a geologist, marine biologist and volcanologist. I do all the aerospace and engineering topics.”

Her favorite project: teaching the students to build circuits, which involves soldering and building a USB solar powered phone charger.

Proud Panther

Aranda, who worked at NASA before starting at Blue Origin, says her time at FIU was foundational for her success.

“I love everything about FIU,” says Aranda, who currently serves on the industry advisory board of FIU’s Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. “I have to give a special shout out to Dr. Lagos. Because of the research I did at FIU’s Applied Research Center, I was able to get my first internship at NASA and co-authored a scientific article as a sophomore.”

Her mentor, Leonel Lagos is an associate professor in the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability and director of research at FIU’s Applied Research Center. He oversees FIU’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. Through the partnership, students gain real-world experience and conduct research on environmental cleanup for nuclear and radioactive materials located in the Department of Energy’s sites across the U.S. 

Aranda was part of FIU’s inaugural Department of Energy (DOE) Fellows cohort in 2007. A star student, Aranda won various awards for her research presentations as a fellow and made important contributions to the research team. 

“I always tell students that to work in my lab they have to have ‘ganas,’ the desire to work, and Denisse had it. She still does, she has that spark,” Lagos says. “I remember Denisse was always enthusiastic about her work. She contributed to the team and was always willing to help. And, obviously, she’s very smart.”

He is proud to see all that Aranda has accomplished: While at FIU, Aranda interned twice at NASA, one at its Glenn Research Center and the other at its Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. She also interned at the U.S. Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C. After graduation, she went on to work at NASA Langley Research Center for nearly eight years before starting her journey at Blue Origin.

Aranda’s work is literally out of this world. 

“Denisse is one-of-a-kind,” Lagos says. “She is very passionate about her work, and she’s also passionate about teaching young kids about science. We’re so happy that she was part of our research team.”

Aranda’s words of wisdom for students: love what you do.

“I just follow my curiosity,” she says. “I’m having fun. I still find this interesting and fascinating. That’s my biggest advice. Be motivated by curiosity, and do something you enjoy.” 

Watch the recording of Blue Origin's webcast of the launch.