Jennifer Inman supports human spaceflight at NASA

“What can physicists do? ” is an interview series that profiles physicists who opted for careers outside of academia.

What was your PhD research area?

Using ultraviolet lasers to study the transition from laminar to turbulent flow in supersonic airflows, as part of NASA’s preparation to fly again after the loss of Columbia.

What were you looking for in a job?

In college, I took physics on a whim. When I got a 40% on my first modern physics assignment, I thought maybe I wasn’t cut out for it. But my professor encouraged me and said that I was on track with the rest of the class.

I wanted to be part of something meaningful, hands-on, and intellectually compelling—the closer to human spaceflight, the better.

How did you get your job at NASA?

I got my foot in the door with a NASA internship for graduate students. I became a civil servant in 2005 and was invited to join SCIFLI in 2018.

How do you spend your time?

I lead a team that chases spacecraft to collect engineering performance data during atmospheric flight, using telescopes in the air and on the ground. When not deployed, I’m in the office planning missions, managing budgets, and negotiating agreements for NASA programs with space agencies, universities, and commercial companies. There are no do-overs in spaceflight, so we perform detailed simulations, calculations, and rehearsals before a mission.

During mission operations, life revolves around launch or reentry timelines. We set up equipment and modify NASA aircraft to transmit desired wavelengths, custom sensors, optics, and filters.

Before Artemis II flew the lunar flyby in April, I was at one of six ground sites tracking the launching rocket; 10 days later, my team had multiple aircraft over the Pacific tracking the Orion crew capsule with calibrated sensors and spectrometers that provided quantitative temperature measurements of its heat shield as it returned to Earth.

How do you use your physics?

It allows me to understand the underlying rocket science, thermodynamics, optical systems, and so on. More globally, physics taught me how to approach complex problems in a disciplined and methodical way to find elegant or counterintuitive solutions.

What new skills have you needed?

Cultivating connections, managing people, technical advocacy, and negotiation.

What do you like most about your job?

I get to work with amazing people supporting human spaceflight missions. Working on something bigger than ourselves brings out the best in humanity.

See also the upcoming interview with Jennifer’s pilot husband, Matthew Inman.