Yvonne Villegas-Aguilera wanted to go into the medical field. She wound up a rocket scientist.
Almost 25 years after graduating from Our Lady of the Lake University, Villegas-Aguilera will be at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, consulting on the historic launch of Artemis II.
The mission will send the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft around the moon.
Artemis II marks a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface and sending future missions to Mars.
“I am very excited to be a part of the Artemis mission,” said Villegas-Aguilera, a NASA engineer who earned a degree in chemistry from OLLU in 2002. “It is surreal. I never thought I would be working on the launch vehicle that would take people back to the moon.”
Villegas-Aguilera grew up in El Paso, the first on the mother’s side of her family to attend college. At OLLU, she met her future husband, Zeke Aguilera, became a McNair Scholar and immersed herself in campus ministry.
Gloria Urrabazo, OLLU vice president of mission and ministry, remembers Villegas-Aguilera as a resilient student who overcame adversity. During her studies, Urrabazo remembers when Villegas-Aguilera lost her grandfather.
“She wasn’t going to come back to school because she was the oldest and needed to take care of her family,” Urrabazo said. “But I talked to her momma and she did come back. It was very difficult. We’re proud of her accomplishments. But we’re also proud of the woman she has become — a woman of faith and integrity and a woman of purpose.”
After OLLU, Villegas-Aguilera earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She has worked at NASA since 2008.
In 2022, she supervised the solid propulsion engineers who designed the solid rocket boosters of Artemis I. The un-crewed flight test was designed to prove that the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft could transport humans to the moon and back.
Artemis II is scheduled to launch at 5:24 p.m. with Villegas-Aguilera supporting the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The San Antonio Report conducted a Q&A with Villegas-Aguilera, while she was on Merritt Island in Florida, preparing for the launch.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Can you explain your role in the launch of Artemis II?
I am the Deputy Chief Engineer for the Space Launch System Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution (SPIE) Element. The SPIE Element is responsible for the design and manufacturing of the Launch Vehicle Space Adapter (LVSA) and the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA). It provides the in-space propulsion system that is used to help send the Orion spacecraft on its course to the moon. I am one of the technical authorities responsible for the design, manufacturing and integration of this hardware.
Where will you be when Artemis II launches?
I will sit on console, monitoring all our systems and working with a team of engineers from different disciplines to resolve any issues that may arise.
Did you grow up dreaming about astronomy or going into space?
I always thought it was interesting and even thought it would be cool to be an astronaut. But I never thought of it as something I could do. Instead, I thought I was going to go into the medical field because I liked helping people. I even attended a magnet high school geared toward those interested in going into the health care profession. It was a blessing in disguise because I realized that I did not want to pursue the medical field. But I didn’t have a backup plan.
How did you end up at NASA as a chemistry graduate from OLLU?
I was accepted into an internship with NASA called Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP) my third year in college. My advisor suggested I apply. I was in shock when I was notified that I was accepted. I credit the NASA Internship Program for setting my path to work for the agency. I never considered that a possibility until I got into the program and realized I could do this.
NASA plans to send humans back to the moon, build a base on the lunar surface and send a crewed mission to Mars. Do you plan to be part of those missions?
Yes, I hope to continue to be part of future Artemis missions. I love what I am doing. And I am willing to be in any role NASA decides I’m needed in to continue helping the agency reach its goals.
How does it feel to be pushing the boundaries of space exploration?
It is very exciting! I love this job because we are always learning and understanding the limits of systems.
