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<\/a><\/figure>Mike Lauer, an engineer who works for the Aerojet Rocketdyne segment of L3Harris Technologies, found his career inspiration in science fiction, but for the perspective it takes to execute complex space programs, he draws on real-world experience.<\/p>\n
Growing up, Lauer spent many cold winter nights in the basement of his Sioux Falls, South Dakota, home, creating pictures of iconic space hardware from Hollywood space movies. \u201cThat really is what got me into it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to today, and he\u2019s managing production of the RS-25 main engines for NASA\u2019s heavy-lift SLS (Space Launch System), which will launch U.S. astronauts back to the Moon as part of the agency\u2019s Artemis campaign. When the scale and complexity of the undertaking appear daunting, Lauer thinks back to early in his career, when he designed hardware for the International Space Station, now in its third decade on orbit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just seemed to me that there\u2019s no way this was going to work, but we just kept building and solving problems and the next thing you know, we\u2019re launching space station parts,\u201d Lauer says. \u201cHaving that experience of seeing a program that seemed too big, too complex, and it worked, gives me great hope and confidence that we can do it again with Artemis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lauer has family ties to space. His father, Don Lauer, ran the U.S. Geological Survey\u2019s Earth Resources Observation and Science Center in Sioux Falls, a repository for data collected by NASA\u2019s long-running Landsat series of land imaging satellites. Lauer\u2019 father even spent time at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston, home to the Agency\u2019s human spaceflight program, exploring the role of astronauts in Earth observation from space.<\/p>\n
But it was an artist\u2019s fascination with fictional hardware \u2013\u2013 that ultimately led Mike Lauer to earn his bachelor and master\u2019s degrees in Aeronautical & Astronautical engineering from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. \u201cWith engineering in general, there\u2019s a connection with art,\u201d Lauer says. \u201cWe create these things that have an artistic aesthetic to them, which is really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cool is a word Lauer, a licensed pilot, deploys frequently in describing his career journey, understandably so. For example, he once participated in a space station assembly rehearsal with veteran astronaut Jerry Ross at Johnson\u2019s Neutral Buoyancy Facility, a giant pool used to help train astronauts for spacewalks. \u201cI\u2019m in this spacesuit and Jerry Ross is in this spacesuit and we\u2019re plugging in elements of the space station,\u201d Lauer says, almost in disbelief. \u201cOh my gosh!\u201d<\/p>\n
While serving as Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s lead engineer on the Multi Mission Radioisotope Thermo-electric Generator program, Lauer visited the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Idaho National Laboratory to observe the loading of Plutonium 238 nuclear fuel into the device, which continues to power NASA\u2019s car-sized Curiosity rover on the Martian surface. \u201cSuper cool,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
For his next move, Lauer figured that, being at Aerojet Rocketdyne (now L3Harris), builder of the engines on NASA\u2019s legendary Saturn V Moon rocket, he should get into the propulsion side of the business. He began on the J-2X, a modified version of the Saturn V\u2019s second stage engine that NASA had planned at one point to use on the SLS. Working from 1960s era drawings, Lauer and his team created a modern, easier-to-produce design with more power that had a successful series of hot-fire tests before being replaced in favor of a different upper stage design.<\/p>\n
Now, as RS-25 program director, Lauer works on another engine, this one originally designed for NASA\u2019s now-retired Space Shuttle, updating and redesigning key components to meet new requirements and reduce production costs. The SLS flew its first mission without a crew, but upcoming flights will have astronauts aboard, which gives Lauer a huge sense of pride and responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m awed and inspired by what we\u2019re doing,\u201d he says. \u201cReally cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also really cool: Lauer serves as a volunteer pilot for the Civil Air Patrol, supporting the U.S. Air Force on search and rescue, disaster relief, and fire damage assessment missions. That keeps him busy on many weekends when he\u2019s not refereeing youth soccer.<\/p>\n
Aside from that, Lauer most looks forward to the day four NASA astronauts are safely aboard their recovery ship at the successful conclusion of the first human moon landing in more than five decades.<\/p>\n
Read other I am Artemis features.<\/a><\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a> Mike Lauer, an engineer who works for the Aerojet Rocketdyne segment of L3Harris Technologies, found his career inspiration in science fiction, but for the perspective it takes to execute complex space programs, he draws on real-world experience. Growing up, Lauer spent many cold winter nights in the basement of his Sioux Falls, South Dakota, home, [\u2026] Continue reading
\nBeth Ridgeway <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"