Space tech does a lot of good for people down here on Earth. For Sairaksha Kesarla, an engineering program manager at Planet Labs ($PL), that’s the whole point.
Kesarla has been working at Planet since graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2022 with a degree in aerospace engineering. She first joined the company as a cohort member of the Zed Factor Fellowship, which is a program that pairs members of gender and ethnic minorities with host organizations in the aerospace industry.
Now, Kesarla works with teams at Planet to make valuable EO data more accessible and usable for the people that it could help down on the ground.
“Just seeing the impact of our data, where it’s being used, and all of that is very inspiring,” Kesarla told Payload. “I know I’m building the satellite, but also, I’m like, ‘Whoa, this satellite I built did all of that for all those people.”
Leading the team: In her current role at Planet, Kesarla says she wears a lot of hats. Wherever the program needs support, from keeping engineers on schedule to jumping in to help build a satellite, Kesarla is there.
“Having that end-to-end view also puts me in a place to understand the interdependencies between the various subsystems, and jump in to help problem-solve and make programmatic decisions when needed,” Kesarla said.
Bringing it home: Kesarla spent most of her life in the West African nation of Burkina Faso, which she describes as full of potential—potential that satellite technology and advanced agricultural data could help unlock.
Sharing the love: Outside of her day job, Kesarla serves as the vice chair of the Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics board for 2025 and 2026.
“I have always followed where my interests take me, with an open mind,” Kesarla said. “I have learned that it’s hard to stick to a perfect plan, but I do know I want to shape the future of space in a way that we are advancing humanity while staying rooted in doing good.”
