It IS rocket science
Brit expert part of team that helped Artemis 1 to moon
A BRITISH engineer is celebrating after being part of the team that helped get the Artemis 1 moon rocket into space.
Sian Cleaver works for Airbus which built the Orion European Service Module. It provides things such as the capsule’s electrical power.
The 32-year-old said after Wednesday’s launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida: “This is history in the making.
“We’ve all been incredibly excited for this.
“It’s the fulfilment of a childhood dream for me.
“To feel that rumble and see it head off to the moon… just magic.”
Sian, from Chelmsford,
Essex, joined Airbus on its graduate scheme after gaining a master’s degree in physics and astronomy from Durham University.
As a child she longed to be an astronaut – and even visited Kennedy Space Center as a child with her sister.
But Sian went into engineering instead and now works at Airbus in Bremen, Germany.
The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission around the moon will pave the way for a crewed flight test and future human lunar exploration. On board will be mannequins – and a Shaun the Sheep toy – made famous by Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit series.
The puppet is part of an educational outreach programme by the European Space Agency, which contributed the ESM to the mission.
There will be people on board for later missions to the moon, with the first crewed flight into space scheduled for 2024.
The last manned mission there was Apollo 17, which took place in December 1972, with astronauts Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt and Ronald Evans on board.
British consul-general in Miami, Rufus Drabble, was among VIP guests at the launch of Artemis 1 describing it as “something to behold”. NASA administrator Bill Nelson said the launch team were “part of a great legacy” of space travel.
Artemis was the Greek goddess of chastity, hunting and the moon.
It’s history in the making. We’ve all been very excited
SIAN CLEAVER ON HER ROLE IN ARTEMIS PROJECT