Skip to main content

In the Thick of Human Spaceflight

It's been a little less than 5 months since I passed my final simulation to become a certified Attitude Determination and Control Officer for the International Space Station. As I was typing up a blurb for my manager the other day it really hit me how many cool things I have already been a part of.

For starters, by the end of this month I will have accumulated over 225 hours of "console time" flying the space station, or supporting from the backroom (although the majority of the time was just me, sitting in mission control, in the middle of the night, keeping her straight and level). In that time I supported an "Optimized Propellant Maneuver" (i.e. flipping the space station around for a docking), a Russian Solar Array Efficiency test, several thruster disable periods required for robotic operations, and the install of HTV-5 (a Japanese cargo vehicle currently attached to ISS). I have also met several astronauts who serve as the "CAPCOM" position (they talk to the astronauts onboard), and even received a call from one of the crew members currently on orbit. Yes, you heard that right, I received a personal call from space, how many people can say that?! And maybe most rewarding, I have enjoyed receiving texts or emails from friends and family when they see the ISS fly over them, knowing I'm at the helm!

I'm here, in mission control, at NASA Johnson Space Center, in the thick of human spaceflight. I honestly never thought I would have an opportunity like this, and I'm so thankful to be a small part of this amazing adventure.

A picture I snapped during some of the HTV robotic operations. This was my first "dynamic" activity alone, we had a thruster disable to support the activity. 


Anyone else out there feel like their heart is full like their job really represents their greatest passion?!
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousWednesday, September 16, 2015

    Working on airplanes is all I ever wanted to do, and working on aircraft that fly through the sky at 450 plus mph with over 150 regular people on board who are not worried about the soundness of the aircraft is quite exciting. Dad.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Who has two thumbs and loves comments? Nerdy April!!! Type one out and hit publish!

Popular posts from this blog

The road to curing Type 1 Diabetes

From the moment of diagnosis, the road is rough, the learning curve is steep and the stakes are literally life or death. The map is less-than-helpful - paths originating from virtually every corner, coalescing at a center point (aka "diagnosis") and bursting back outwards - some paths cross and wrap around each other but others are isolated. And even with all of these roads, most of the territory is uncharted - how did we all get here and how will we all exit? Where are the obstacles we haven't found yet? Which passage holds the key to unlocking the solution? On any given day I feel pretty isolated with this disease - I'm the only T1D in my group at work, the only one in mission control, the only one in my family. I go through the logistics of calling insurance companies, ordering supplies, changing sites and troubleshooting malfunctions mostly on my own. Even those pesky carbs really only get counted in my brain, no group think for a meal bolus here. But there i
4 comments
More Nerdy This Way! »

The Diabetes Transportation System DTS-T1

I was looking forward to the Space Shuttle launch on Monday, then it was pushed to Wednesday and now it is scheduled for Thursday due to several electrical issues from a main engine computer controller. Ironically, our little MH-47G (due to start testing on Monday originally) has been having it's own issues and it is still unclear exactly when we will start testing. And all of this uncertainty, schedule changes, and issue-working reminds me of my little friend Diabetes [come on, you knew that was coming :-)]. Even with hard work, super awesome bolusing skills [ check out Holly's blog today, the number crunching is very impressive] and constant blood sugar checks, Diabetes can still be unpredictable, necessitate schedule changes, and cause the carrier to work through the issues. I have been lucky today, even after a late-night cocktail last night, I woke up this morning at 112, and before lunch I was an amazing 113. I love being steady like that, cruising along with hardly an
4 comments
More Nerdy This Way! »

What it's really like being a woman engineer in 2020

Today is International Women in Engineering Day (#INWED)! This year marks a full decade since earning an Aerospace Engineering degree, launching my journey as a woman engineer. So, what does it feel like as a woman engineer today, in 2020?  It probably comes as no surprise that women are still the minority in most engineering fields, mine included. The real statistics? At my first job out of college , women made up 10% of my group and that percentage came from only one woman: me. There were a handful of other women scattered throughout the rest of the organization but it was probably around 10% at best. I relied solely on men to teach me how to interact with military officers, when to speak up in meetings, how to don and doff flight gear and talk on the radio, how to avoid red-out during aerobatics, how to take engineering notes during night flights, how to setup and run data, how to run a pre-flight and post-flight briefing, how to conduct myself at customer sites, how to layer up an
1 comment
More Nerdy This Way! »
01 09 10