When Kristen Bury began her career at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Artemis was a mere set of blueprints. Her focus was Orion — Artemis’ spacecraft built to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before — and as a systems engineer, she modeled and simulated its power system.
“The work I did early in my career was to help us understand how Orion’s power system was going to function on different Artemis missions,” said Bury. “My work helped the teams defining those missions map out which missions we can fly and which ones we can’t based on how the power system functions.”
More than a decade later, she continues to support Artemis, but now as part of an international team of project managers for the European Service Module (ESM). The NASA team is led out of Glenn and manages the ESM along with the European Space Agency (ESA).
Her team ensures that NASA and ESA complete all tasks on time and on budget. She makes sure flight hardware from Europe arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at just the right time to integrate with the rest of the Orion spacecraft.
“It’s a little bit of a logistics challenge getting spaceflight hardware from Europe to Florida,” said Bury. “We either fly it on a plane or send it on a barge. Making sure all those pieces arrive in Florida at the same time while the capsule and rocket are being built can be difficult.”
Bury works with partners across the globe in different time zones. She works with people in Denver, Houston, Florida, as well as in Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Italy. She often travels to collaborate with her counterparts in Europe.
“It’s a very global team, very dynamic,” said Bury. “Even though we’re not physically located together, we always rise to the occasion and are able to come together to solve our problems. It’s fun to work on an international team.”
It’s fitting that Bury is part of uniting people across the world to advance scientific discovery, build a global alliance, and explore deep space for the benefit of all. After all, she grew up under the influence of “Starfleet,” an armada of the United Federation of Planets, known for conducting deep space exploration, research, and diplomacy.
“My mom is a bit of a ‘Trekkie,’ so there was a lot of Star Trek on in the house growing up. I think that probably sparked the initial interest,” said Bury. “My parents really fostered that interest and love of space. My dad would take me to the planetarium, and my mom would take me to see astronauts speak whenever they were in the area.”
Gene Kranz, the legendary chief flight director during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs is from Toledo, Ohio, close to where Bury grew up. She had the opportunity to see him speak, as well as attend space camp when she was in high school.
“After space camp, NASA was all I could talk about,” said Bury. “I wanted to work for NASA, and I was going to make it happen. I was like a broken record all through high school and college.”
After graduating from the University of Toledo with a degree in chemical engineering, Bury dove into her career at NASA Glenn surrounded by world-class experts in their field. After feeling “imposter syndrome” in the beginning, she reminded herself that no one becomes an expert their first day on the job, and that knowledge and skill will come with time.
“The thing about barriers, it’s only a barrier if you let it be,” said Bury. “There’s always a path around it, if you’re feeling strong that day you can punch right through it. It’s important to know that you control your future, and don’t let anyone tell you any different. Work hard, know your worth and trust in it.”
Bury looks forward to the launch of Artemis II, Artemis III, and future missions. She feels inspired knowing she is taking part in landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.
“I’m just so excited and blessed to be involved in the program that’s taking those steps,” said Bury. “It’s been so rewarding going from blueprints to actually building spaceflight hardware. The Artemis I launch was the most emotional day of my life. It performed beautifully and that’s a testament to the hard work of the team. This really is for the benefit of all.”
NASA is in a Golden Era of aeronautics and space exploration. In partnership with commercial and private businesses, NASA is currently making history with significant missions such as Artemis, X-57 Maxwell, and X-59 Quesst. The NASA’s Modern History Makers series highlights members of NASA Glenn’s workforce who make these remarkable missions possible.
Jacqueline Minerd
NASA’s Glenn Research Center