Let daughters reach for the stars

Nyla Trumbach was nervous on Aug. 16, 2012. It was rocket engine test day at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. She had worked in supporting roles for other tests, but on that day, she was its lead engineer. “My heart was pounding out of my chest,” she said. But little did she know at the time, she would be part of making history at Stennis, when she and Rosa Obregon became the first two female engineers to serve as test conductors for engine tests on the same day. It also marked the first time two large-engine tests were completed simultaneously by Stennis teams. They were following in the footsteps of Elizabeth Messer, who became the first NASA female test conductor at Stennis in 2000. Obregon has since moved on to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. Trumbach is now NASA’s lead mechanical test operations engineer on the Fred Haise Test Stand. For the Space Launch System "Green Run" core stage testing, Trumbach was one of two females to serve as liquid hydrogen transfer engineers. "My mom always told me I could do whatever I wanted to do,” she said. “Work hard, try hard, put your mind to it (and) you can be and do whatever you want to do. “For mothers, encourage your daughters to reach for the stars, to go for what they are interested in.” (Stennis 08/16/22) Two Female Test Conductors Make History on the Headset | NASA