Flying spacecraft means solving problems: Angela Dietz at ESOC

In celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February, we’ve shared a series of stories spotlighting women at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) who fly spacecraft.

Meet Angela Dietz, Spacecraft Operations Manager (SOM) for ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission.

With a background in physics, Angela has spent 20+ years in spacecraft operations at ESOC, working on missions such as Rosetta, BepiColombo and now Juice.

What does Angela love about the job?

“The problems are really like little puzzles – you have limited telemetry, and you try to make sense of it and find solutions.”

High-pressure moments are part of the work, especially during launches, flybys, and anomalies. For Angela, that’s when teamwork matters most.

“Computers can’t solve the kind of problems we face in our job. You need people working together to do that.”

And when something goes wrong?

Angela says she thrives in these moments: “Those are really scary moments. But I’m not scared. I follow procedures and steps to solve the issue. I’ve been trained to be a problem-solver, and I work best under a lot of stress,” she adds.

Her advice to women who dream of flying spacecraft?

“As a kid, working in ESOC’s control room was my dream job, but I always thought the likelihood of getting a job here was very small. Just try. Keep applying. We need everyone. We need talented women.”
This text was previously published on ESA Operations, Engineering, and Space Safety's LinkedIn page.