Listen to this audio excerpt from Jesse Burdis, Artemis II Mobile Launcher 1 Deputy Project Manager:
Jesse Burdis’s dream of becoming a structural engineer began with visions of skyscrapers rising above the Dallas and Oklahoma skylines. Today, that dream has reached lofty heights beyond the city limits at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Burdis, the deputy project manager for Mobile Launcher 1 for the agency’s Artemis II mission, had a way for NASA to do more than that as planned. While attending an engineering leadership conference in Orlando, he left a copy of his resume with NASA recruiters. Four weeks later, that simple gesture turned into a life-changing opportunity: a role as a launch infrastructure engineer with the Exploration Ground Systems Program at Kennedy, working on uncrewed test flights of Artemis I, SLS and Orion.
jesse burdis
Artemis II Mobile Launcher 1 Deputy Project Manager
The mobile launcher serves as the backbone for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis missions before and during launch. It is designed to support integration, test, and checkout of the rocket and spacecraft, in addition to acting as a structural platform or as Burdis puts it, a “shoulder at liftoff.” More than 400 feet high, the mobile launcher contains umbilicals that provide power, communications, coolant, fuel and stabilization before launch, as well as access for the Artemis II crew to safely board Orion.
When Burdis first arrived at the center, the view of the vast ground systems made an unforgettable impression. To them, these were not just structures, they were skyscrapers for space exploration.
Following the historic launch of Artemis I, Burdis and his team turned their attention to an even greater challenge: preparing for Artemis II, NASA’s first manned Moon mission in more than 50 years.
One of the most significant upgrades to Artemis II is the Emergency Egress System, which is a abort system for personnel to use in the unlikely event of an emergency on the launch pad. Located at the 274-foot level of the mobile launcher, four baskets will provide a rapid escape route from the mobile launcher to the base of the pad in the event of an emergency, using electromagnetic braking technology.
jesse burdis
Artemis II Mobile Launcher 1 Deputy Project Manager
Burdis recently focused its attention on Artemis Human Landing System lander ground operations to develop and maintain an integrated program. Under his leadership, the team ensures accuracy of joint programs, risks and insights, ensuring ground operations and manned lander development remain in coordination.
