Cassandra Rodriguera grew up on aerospace, and now she helps deliver cargo 250 miles above Earth.
Connecting the Cosmos
Adam Jones’ Journey from Aspiring Astronaut to Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) Engineer
By Lauren Sarmir
How did our solar system form? Could there really be planets in the universe that sustain life beyond Earth? The answers to these questions may lie in exoplanets, the planets outside of our solar system. For Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) Engineer Adam Jones exoplanets offer clues to cosmic unknowns and a gateway to something greater.
As a child, Adam wanted to be an astronaut, and his interest in aerospace engineering began with a love of spaceflight and math.
“I remember always wanting to learn more about our solar system and the sun; trying to comprehend the scale of stars and galaxies and just feeling this sense of wonder and awe at it all,” he said.
In 2012, Adam joined Northrop Grumman, jumping at the chance to explore the cosmos. Now, as a GNC engineer, Adam controls the position of a spacecraft to complete its mission, whether that’s ensuring a cargo resupply spacecraft follows course to dock with the International Space Station, or a discovery satellite is in the right position to capture data.
Adam’s passion for engineering shines in virtually every interaction. Engineering helps satisfy his endless curiosity, love of math and pull toward creative problem-solving — and his work reminds him there is so much more in this universe to explore.
“Northrop Grumman brings a scale of breadth and depth that’s hard to find at other places, with the wide range of programs from science missions to commercial and classified,” he said. "All of these options are at our fingertips, giving you a chance to pursue almost any interest.”
With Adam’s help, TESS is ready to discover worlds beyond our Solar System.
Hunting for Exoplanets
After two years with the Cygnus Commercial Resupply Services program, Adam moved to the team working on the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a NASA-funded mission to locate potential exoplanets. As lead GNC engineer, Adam is a key point of contact for attitude control for the satellite, ensuring that TESS is pointed in the right direction to capture data.
The spacecraft has a close connection to the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb). TESS discovers transiting exoplanets orbiting nearby, bright stars and Webb further investigates the exoplanets’ atmospheres. TESS is currently on its second extended mission and has discovered over 7,000 candidate planets, 480 of which are confirmed exoplanets.
“Personally, I’ve found a home in GNC because I thrive on the technical and detailed-oriented nature of the work,” Adam said. “I like to take things and break them down and go down to the finite layer and pick things apart step-by-step.”
The spacecraft has a close connection to the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb). TESS discovers transiting exoplanets orbiting nearby, bright stars and Webb further investigates the exoplanets’ atmospheres. TESS is currently on its second extended mission and has discovered over 7,000 candidate planets, 480 of which are confirmed exoplanets.
“Personally, I’ve found a home in GNC because I thrive on the technical and detailed-oriented nature of the work,” Adam said. “I like to take things and break them down and go down to the finite layer and pick things apart step-by-step.”
Before TESS launched in 2018, Adam wrote the Attitude Control flight software for the satellite to ensure it could navigate to the proper orbit. For most people, this amazes: to actually program a satellite to move a certain way and pinpoint its direction in space. To Adam, it’s just a small part of a much bigger mission.
After four years of hard work, Adam’s efforts culminated in TESS’ launch.
“Seeing all your work come to life on orbit for the first time is incredible, and scary, because so much of it just has to work straight out of the box,” he said. “If you have issues, you only have the telemetry that you built into the system to provide insight. This has definitely shaped the way I design spacecraft now.”
Moving forward, Adam says his faith and family inspire him to keep working hard.
“The work I do at Northrop Grumman is a perfect harmony of putting food on the table at home and contributing to the scientific community and national security,” he said.
Each time Adam sits at his desk, he is helping expand humankind’s understanding of the universe and potentially shedding new light on our solar system’s origins.
After four years of hard work, Adam’s efforts culminated in TESS’ launch.
“Seeing all your work come to life on orbit for the first time is incredible, and scary, because so much of it just has to work straight out of the box,” he said. “If you have issues, you only have the telemetry that you built into the system to provide insight. This has definitely shaped the way I design spacecraft now.”
Moving forward, Adam says his faith and family inspire him to keep working hard.
“The work I do at Northrop Grumman is a perfect harmony of putting food on the table at home and contributing to the scientific community and national security,” he said.
Each time Adam sits at his desk, he is helping expand humankind’s understanding of the universe and potentially shedding new light on our solar system’s origins.
Life at Northrop Grumman
Your work at Northrop Grumman makes a difference. Whether you want to design next-generation aircraft, harness digital technologies or build spacecraft that will return humanity to the moon, you’ll contribute to technology that’s transforming the world. Check out our career opportunities to see how you can help define possible.
