Dr. Laura Jones-Wilson
Systems Engineer
About
Bio
Laura Jones-Wilson earned her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering at Virginia Tech in 2007, went on to study at Cornell University, where she obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering specializing in the Dynamics and Controls of Space Systems. She joined JPL in 2012 as a guidance and control systems engineer, where her first position was serving as the project systems engineer for STABLE, a balloon-based pointing technology demonstration mission. She was on the guidance and control team for a number of CubeSat missions, and served as the attitude control lead She then served as the PI a Mars Sample Capture technology development effort and co-founded the SmallSat Dynamics Testbed. In 2015 she became the instrument engineer for the ultraviolet instrument on Europa Clipper, and later served in that role for the radar instrument as a part of the Clipper payload team. She is currently a systems engineer working payload V&V on Europa Clipper.
Education
- Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering, Dynamics and Controls, Astronomy Minor; Cornell University (Aug 2012)
- M.S. Aerospace Engineering, Dynamics and Controls; Cornell University (Dec 2010)
- B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Math Minor; Virginia Tech (May 2007)
Research Interests
- Instrument Systems Engineering
- Science Traceability Systems Engineering
- Systems Engineering of Small Projects
- Air Bearing Testbed Development
- Dynamics and Control of Small Satellite Systems
- Flux-Pinned Space Systems
Experience
Professional Experience
- Project Systems Systems Engineer, JPL
- Mar 2018 – present
- Guidance and Control Systems Engineer, JPL
- Sep 2012 – Mar 2018
Achievements
Awards & Recognitions
- JPL Voyager Award (2018)
- JPL Team Award | JPL Team Award for SPECTRE Microgravity Testing (2017)
- JPL Award | JPL NASA Honors Award for Near Earth Asteroid Scout Project Team (2015)
- JPL Mariner Award | JPL Mariner Bonus Award, ISARA I&T Lead, ACS Lead, support for the SE Team (2014)
- JPL Team Award | JPL Team Award for leading the creation of the SmallSat Dynamics Testbed (2014)
Publications
- Jones-Wilson, Laura; Susca, Sara, and Reinholtz, Kirk, “The Project-Domain Science Traceability and Alignment Framework (P-STAF): Analysis and Applications,” Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, Mar 4 – 9, 2018.
- Zhu, Frances; Jones-Wilson, Laura; Peck, Mason, “Flux-Pinned Dynamics Model Parameterization and Sensitivity Study”, Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, Mar 4 – 9, 2018.
- Filipe, Nuno; Jones-Wilson, Laura; Mohan, Swati; Lo, Kevin; Jones-Wilson, William; "Miniaturized Star Tracker Simulator for Closed-Loop Testing of CubeSats," Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 40, pg. 3239-3246, Aug 9, 2017.
- Shields, Joel; Pong, Christopher; Lo, Kevin; Jones, Laura; Mohan, Swati; Marom, Chava; McKinley, Ian, Wilson, William; and Andrade, Luis, “Characterization of CubeSat Reaction Wheel Assemblies,” Journal of Small Satellites. Vol. 06, No. 01, May 2017, pp. 565-580.
- Jones-Wilson, Laura; and Susca, Sara, “A Framework for Extending the Science Traceability Matrix: Application to the Planned Europa Mission,” Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, Mar 4 – 11 2017.
- Susca, Sara; Jones-Wilson, Laura; and Oida, Bogdan, “A Framework for Writing Measurement Requirements and its Application to the Planned Europa Mission,” Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, Mar 4 – 11 2017.
- Jones-Wilson, Laura; Susca, Sara; Diaz, Christina; Chang, Herrick; Duffy, Elizabeth; Effinger, Robert; Lewis, Derek; Lo, Kevin; Ochoa, Hared; Perez, Joseph; Rizvi, Aadil; Seubert, Carl; Umsted, Carson; Borden, Michael; Clark, Paul; Massey, Richard; Liewer, Kurt; and Porter, Michael, “A Sub-Arcsecond Pointing Stability Fine Stage for a High Altitude Balloon Platform” Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, Mar 4 – 11 2017.
- Borden, Michael; Lewis, Derek; Ochoa, Hared; Jones-Wilson, Laura; Susca, Sara; Porter, Michael; Massey, Richard; Clark, Paul; and Netterfield, Barth, “Thermal, Structural, and Optical Analysis of a Balloon-Based Imaging System,” Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Vol. 129, No. 973, January 19, 2017.
- Zhu, Frances; Jones-Wilson, Laura; and Peck, Mason, “A concept for capturing and docking spacecraft with flux-pinned interfaces”, 67th International Astronautical Congress, 2016, pp. 1–15.
- Clark, Paul; Massey, Richard; Chang, Herrick; Galloway, Matthew; Jones, Laura; Mandic, Milan; Morris, Tim; Netterfield, Barth; Peacock, John; Sharples, Ray; Susca, Sara, “Characterization of a commercial, front-illuminated interline transfer CCD camera for use as a guide camera on a balloon-borne telescope” Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation, June 2014
- Sorgenfrei, M., Jones, L., Joshi, S., and Peck, M. "Testbed Validation of Location-Scheduled Control of a Reconfigurable Flux-Pinned Spacecraft Formation," Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 50, No. 6 (2013), pp. 1235-1247. DOI: 10.2514/1.A32463
- Wilson, William; Jones, Laura; and Peck, Mason, "A Multi-Module Planar Air Bearing Testbed for CubeSat-Scale Spacecraft," Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control, Vol. 135, Issue 4, May 2013. DOI:10.1115/1.4023767
- Jones, L., Zeledon, R. and Peck, M., "A Generalized Framework for Linearly Constrained Control Moment Gyro Steering," AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 1094-1103, 2012.