EM-1 Update: The Space Launch System's Forward Skirt Is Ready To Be Mated To Other Core Stage Hardware...

NASA / Eric Bordelon

First SLS Core Stage Flight Hardware Complete, Ready for Joining (News Release)

The first major piece of core stage hardware for NASA's Space Launch System rocket has been assembled and is ready to be joined with other hardware for Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. SLS will enable a new era of exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, launching crew and cargo on deep space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

The backbone of the world's most powerful rocket, the 212-foot-tall core stage, will contain the SLS rocket's four RS-25 rocket engines, propellant tanks, flight computers and much more. Though the smallest part of the core stage, the forward skirt will serve two critical roles. It will connect the upper part of the rocket to the core stage and house many of the flight computers, or avionics.

"Completion of the core stage forward skirt is a major step in NASA's progress to the launch pad," said Deborah Bagdigian, lead manager for the forward skirt at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "We're putting into practice the steps and processes needed to assemble the largest rocket stage ever built. With the forward skirt, we are improving and refining how we'll conduct final assembly of the rest of the rocket."

On July 24, forward skirt assembly was wrapped up with the installation of all its parts. As part of forward skirt testing, the flight computers came to life for the first time as NASA engineers tested critical avionic systems that will control the rocket’s flight. The construction, assembly and avionics testing occurred at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

Located throughout the core stage, the avionics are the rocket's "brains," controlling navigation and communication during launch and flight. It is critical that each of the avionics units is installed correctly, work as expected and communicate with each other and other components, including the Orion spacecraft and ground support systems.

"It was amazing to see the computers come to life for the first time" said Lisa Espy, lead test engineer for SLS core stage avionics. "These are the computers that will control the rocket as it soars off the pad for Exploration Mission-1."

The forward skirt test series was the first of many that will verify the rocket's avionics will work as expected during launch. The tests show the forward skirt was built correctly, and that all components and wiring on the inside have been put together and connected properly and are sending data over the lines as expected.

The avionic computers ran "built-in tests" that Espy compares to the internal diagnostic tests performed by an automobile when first started. All of the health and data status reports came back as expected. The tests were a success and did not return any error codes. Such error codes would be similar to a check engine light on a car.

The successful tests give the team the confidence needed to move forward with avionics installations in the core stage intertank and engine section. With more hardware and more interfaces, the installation in the intertank will be more complex, and the complexity will ramp up even more as the team moves to the engine section, introducing hydraulics and other hardware needed for the rocket's engines.

"Each piece of hardware and each test builds to the next," Espy said. "That's why we're excited about the successful forward skirt tests. They lay a solid foundation as we continue to build more and more complex components and get the rocket ready for its first launch."

The forward skirt is now ready to be joined with the rest of the rocket's core stage. Integration of the massive core stage will take place in two joins, the forward join -- including the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank and intertank -- and the aft join -- including the liquid hydrogen tank and the engine section.

Engineers will perform standalone tests on each component as they are completed. Once the forward and aft joins are integrated, they will perform a final integrated function test, testing all the core stage's avionics together.

The fully integrated core stage and its four RS-25 engines will then be fired up during a final test before launch. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the core stage will be stacked with the upper part of the rocket, including Orion, and joined to the rocket's twin solid rocket boosters, in preparation for EM-1.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Eric Bordelon

5 Factoids About Orion...

NASA

Top Five Technologies Needed for a Spacecraft to Survive Deep Space (News Release)

When a spacecraft built for humans ventures into deep space, it requires an array of features to keep it and a crew inside safe. Both distance and duration demand that spacecraft must have systems that can reliably operate far from home, be capable of keeping astronauts alive in case of emergencies and still be light enough that a rocket can launch it.

Missions near the Moon will start when NASA’s Orion spacecraft leaves Earth atop the world’s most powerful rocket, NASA’s Space Launch System. After launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Orion will travel beyond the Moon to a distance more than 1,000 times farther than where the International Space Station flies in low-Earth orbit, and farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever ventured. To accomplish this feat, Orion has built-in technologies that enable the crew and spacecraft to explore far into the solar system.

Systems to Live and Breathe

As humans travel farther from Earth for longer missions, the systems that keep them alive must be highly reliable while taking up minimal mass and volume. Orion will be equipped with advanced environmental control and life support systems designed for the demands of a deep space mission. A high-tech system already being tested aboard the space station will remove carbon dioxide (CO2) and humidity from inside Orion. Removal of CO2 and humidity is important to ensure air remains safe for the crew breathing. And water condensation on the vehicle hardware is controlled to prevent water intrusion into sensitive equipment or corrosion on the primary pressure structure.

The system also saves volume inside the spacecraft. Without such technology, Orion would have to carry many chemical canisters that would otherwise take up the space of 127 basketballs (or 32 cubic feet) inside the spacecraft—about 10 percent of crew livable area. Orion will also have a new compact toilet, smaller than the one on the space station. Long duration missions far from Earth drive engineers to design compact systems not only to maximize available space for crew comfort, but also to accommodate the volume needed to carry consumables like enough food and water for the entirety of a mission lasting days or weeks.

Highly reliable systems are critically important when distant crew will not have the benefit of frequent resupply shipments to bring spare parts from Earth, like those to the space station. Even small systems have to function reliably to support life in space, from a working toilet to an automated fire suppression system or exercise equipment that helps astronauts stay in shape to counteract the zero-gravity environment in space that can cause muscle and bone atrophy. Distance from home also demands that Orion have spacesuits capable of keeping astronaut alive for six days in the event of cabin depressurization to support a long trip home.

Proper Propulsion

The farther into space a vehicle ventures, the more capable its propulsion systems need to be to maintain its course on the journey with precision and ensure its crew can get home.

Orion has a highly capable service module that serves as the powerhouse for the spacecraft, providing propulsion capabilities that enable Orion to go around the Moon and back on its exploration missions. The service module has 33 engines of various sizes. The main engine will provide major in-space maneuvering capabilities throughout the mission, including inserting Orion into lunar orbit and also firing powerfully enough to get out of the Moon’s orbit to return to Earth. The other 32 engines are used to steer and control Orion on orbit.

In part due to its propulsion capabilities, including tanks that can hold nearly 2,000 gallons of propellant and a back up for the main engine in the event of a failure, Orion’s service module is equipped to handle the rigors of travel for missions that are both far and long, and has the ability to bring the crew home in a variety of emergency situations.

The Ability to Hold Off the Heat

Going to the Moon is no easy task, and it’s only half the journey. The farther a spacecraft travels in space, the more heat it will generate as it returns to Earth. Getting back safely requires technologies that can help a spacecraft endure speeds 30 times the speed of sound and heat twice as hot as molten lava or half as hot as the Sun.

When Orion returns from the Moon, it will be traveling nearly 25,000 mph, a speed that could cover the distance from Los Angeles to New York City in six minutes. Its advanced heat shield, made with a material called AVCOAT, is designed to wear away as it heats up. Orion’s heat shield is the largest of its kind ever built and will help the spacecraft withstand temperatures around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during reentry though Earth’s atmosphere.

Before reentry, Orion also will endure a 700-degree temperature range from about minus 150 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. Orion’s highly capable thermal protection system, paired with thermal controls, will protect Orion during periods of direct sunlight and pitch black darkness while its crews will comfortably enjoy a safe and stable interior temperature of about 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

Radiation Protection

As a spacecraft travels on missions beyond the protection of Earth’s magnetic field, it will be exposed to a harsher radiation environment than in low-Earth orbit with greater amounts of radiation from charged particles and solar storms that can cause disruptions to critical computers, avionics and other equipment. Humans exposed to large amounts of radiation can experience both acute and chronic health problems ranging from near-term radiation sickness to the potential of developing cancer in the long-term.

Orion was designed from the start with built in system-level features to ensure reliability of essential elements of the spacecraft during potential radiation events. For example, Orion is equipped with four identical computers that each are self-checking, plus an entirely different backup computer, to ensure Orion can still send commands in the event of a disruption. Engineers have tested parts and systems to a high standard to ensure that all critical systems remain operable even under extreme circumstances.

Orion also has a makeshift storm shelter below the main deck of the crew module. In the event of a solar radiation event, NASA has developed plans for crew on board to create a temporary shelter inside using materials on board. A variety of radiation sensors will also be on the spacecraft to help scientists better understand the radiation environment far away from Earth. One investigation called AstroRad, will fly on Exploration Mission-1 and test an experimental vest that has the potential to help shield vital organs and decrease exposure from solar particle events.

Constant Communication and Navigation

Spacecraft venturing far from home go beyond the Global Positioning System (GPS) in space and above communication satellites in Earth orbit. To talk with mission control in Houston, Orion’s communication and navigation systems will switch from NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) system used by the International Space Station, and communicate through the Deep Space Network.

Orion is also equipped with backup communication and navigation systems to help the spacecraft stay in contact with the ground and orient itself if it’s primary systems fail. The backup navigation system, a relatively new technology called optical navigation, uses a camera to take pictures of the Earth, Moon and stars and autonomously triangulate Orion’s position from the photos. Its backup emergency communications system doesn’t use the primary system or antennae for high-rate data transfer.

Source: NASA.Gov

SpaceShipTwo Update: The VSS Unity's Third Rocket-Powered Flight Is Successfully in the Books...

Virgin Galactic

Into the Mesosphere at Mach 2.4 (News Release)

Virgin Galactic test pilots broke Mach 2 this morning, as VSS Unity took her third rocket-powered supersonic outing in less than four months. After a clean release from carrier aircraft VMS Eve at 46,500 ft, pilots Dave Mackay and Mike “Sooch” Masucci lit the spaceship’s rocket motor, before pulling up into a near vertical climb and powering towards the black sky at 2.47 times the speed of sound.

The planned 42 seconds rocket burn took pilots and spaceship through the Stratosphere and, at an apogee of 170,800 ft, into the Mesosphere for the first time. This region, often referred to by scientists as the “Ignorosphere”, is an under-studied atmospheric layer because it is above the range of balloon flight, and in the future is an area we can help the research community explore further.

After a safe landing back at Mojave Air and Space Port, Chief Pilot Dave Mackay summed up the experience: “It was a thrill from start to finish. Unity’s rocket motor performed magnificently again and Sooch pulled off a smooth landing. This was a new altitude record for both of us in the cockpit, not to mention our mannequin in the back, and the views of Earth from the black sky were magnificent.”

Sooch added: “Having been a U-2 pilot and done a lot of high altitude work, or what I thought was high altitude work, the view from 170,000 ft was just totally amazing. The flight was exciting and frankly beautiful. We were able to complete a large number of test points which will give us good insight as we progress to our goal of commercial service.”

Every time VSS Unity is tested on the ground, or in the skies, we gain invaluable experience and fresh data. This continuously improves our modelling and helps us optimise objectives and test points as we progressively expand the flight envelope. Today’s test, among other things, gathered more data on supersonic aerodynamics as well as thermal dynamics.

As it has been on previous flights, Unity’s cabin was equipped to gather data vital to the future safety and experience of our astronaut customers. These cabin analysis systems record a host of parameters that are designed to help us further understand the environment inside the cabin during powered flight – temperatures, pressures, humidity, acoustics, thermal response, vibration, acceleration and even radiation.

The carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, was piloted today by Todd Ericson and Kelly Latimer.

Congratulations to everyone at Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company today for achieving another significant step towards commercial service. With VSS Unity, VMS Eve and the pilots safely back on the ground, we will now analyze the post-flight data as we plan and prepare for our next flight.

Source: Virgin Galactic

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Virgin Galactic




Virgin Galactic

NASA Will Soon Announce the Names of the First Humans to Launch from U.S. Soil Since 2011...

Boeing

NASA to Name Astronauts Assigned to First Boeing, SpaceX Flights (Press Release)

NASA will announce on Friday, Aug. 3, the astronauts assigned to crew the first flight tests and missions of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon, and begin a new era in American spaceflight. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will preside over the event, which will begin at 11 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

NASA will announce the crew assignments for the crew flight tests and the first post-certification missions for both Boeing and SpaceX. NASA partnered with Boeing and SpaceX to develop the Starliner spacecraft to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and the Crew Dragon launching atop the Falcon 9 rocket, respectively.

U.S. media are invited to attend the event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and, afterward, speak with the astronauts about their assignments. Media wishing to attend must contact Johnson's newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Aug. 1.

Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana will join Bridenstine and representatives from Boeing and SpaceX to introduce the crews.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry as companies develop and operate a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems designed to carry crews safely to and from low-Earth orbit. The Starliner and Crew Dragon will launch American astronauts on American-made spacecraft from American soil to the International Space Station for the first time since NASA retired its Space Shuttle Program in 2011.

Commercial transportation to and from the space station will enable expanded station use, additional research time and broader opportunities of discovery aboard the orbiting laboratory. The station is critical for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight, and necessary for a sustainable presence on the Moon and missions deeper into the solar system, including Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

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SpaceX

EM-1 Update: More Pushin' and Pullin' for SLS Test Components...

NASA / Tyler Martin

Space Launch System Intertank Readied for Structural Testing (News Release - July 19)

Engineers installed structural test hardware for NASA's deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, into a test stand at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama where testing recently began. The test version of the SLS intertank is being pushed, pulled and bent with millions of pounds of force to ensure it can withstand the forces of launch and ascent.

The test hardware is structurally identical to the flight version of the intertank that will connect the core stage's two colossal fuel tanks, serve as the upper-connection point for the two solid rocket boosters and house critical avionics and electronics. Delivered to Marshall via NASA's barge Pegasus from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans this spring, the intertank is the second of four core stage structural test articles scheduled for testing at Marshall.

The test facility for NASA’s new exploration rocket was originally used for Saturn V rocket testing that enabled the Apollo Moon missions. The facility's special cranes and design features make it ideal for exposing large rockets and spacecraft to the extreme forces of spaceflight.

Source: NASA.Gov

7 Down, 1 More to Go: The Penultimate Drop Test for Orion Above the Yuma Desert...

NASA

Orion Parachutes Chalk Up Another Test Success in Arizona (News Release - July 18)

The parachute system for Orion, America’s spacecraft that will carry humans to deep space, deployed as planned after being dropped from an altitude of 6.6 miles on July 12, at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. Data from the successful seventh drop in a series of eight qualification tests will help NASA engineers certify Orion’s parachutes for missions with astronauts.

This was the final test using a special dart-shaped test article. The last test in the series, scheduled for September, will use a capsule-shaped test article representative of the spacecraft NASA will use on Orion’s upcoming missions, including the first crewed mission, Exploration Mission-2.

To demonstrate the system’s robustness, this test evaluated parachute deployment under conditions that exceeded the requirements for a system carrying crew. Engineers dropped the dart-shaped test article from an altitude that allowed it to generate enough speed to simulate almost twice as much force on the main chutes as would be expected under normal conditions. Orion’s full parachute system includes 11 parachutes — three forward-bay cover parachutes, two drogue parachutes, three pilot parachutes, and three main parachutes that will reduce the capsule’s speed after reentry in support of a safe landing in the ocean.

When deployed, each of Orion’s three main parachutes expands to 116 feet in diameter and contains enough fabric to cover 80 yards of a football field, but is carried aboard Orion in containers the size of a large suitcase. For storage, the parachutes are compacted with hydraulic presses at forces of up to 80,000 pounds, baked for two days and vacuumed sealed. Once packed, they have a density of about 40 pounds per cubic foot, which is roughly the same as wood from an oak tree.

Source: NASA.Gov

Another Successful Flight of New Shepard...

Blue Origin

Latest Blue Origin Launch Tests Technologies of Interest to Space Exploration (News Release)

On July 18, 2018, at 8:35 am PDT, Blue Origin successfully launched its New Shepard rocket from the company’s West Texas launch site with five NASA-supported technologies onboard. For each of these payloads, this flight was one in a series of suborbital demonstrations to facilitate technology development.

The flight helped researchers collect critical data to help them confirm theories, refine previous results and fine-tune experiments for future testing.

Selected for flight test by Flight Opportunities, many of the payloads on this New Shepard flight aim to provide value to other payloads on future flights. For example, a sensor package developed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will help characterize suborbital test flight environments—data critical for implementation of technology and science payloads.

“What we’ve done is put together an instrumentation package that can gather data to characterize the environment on these flight platforms,” said Johnson’s Kathryn Hurlbert, principal investigator (PI) for the SFEM-2, which stands for Suborbital Flight Experiment Monitor-2. “The data we gather will help identify the types of payloads that would be good candidates for testing on a suborbital vehicle.”

SFEM-2 measures critical data, such as acceleration, pressure, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide levels and acoustic levels. This sensor package first flew with Blue Origin in April 2018. This time, the SFEM-2 team was able to test the technology for a different flight profile.

“We modified the acceleration measurement range, allowing us to capture higher g levels from the flight,” said Hurlbert. “This, combined with the data from the first flight, should provide an extensive set of parameters of the test environment.”

Some of the payloads flying on this Blue Origin flight also aim to provide value to other researchers. For example, the company Solstar sent the world’s first commercial tweet from space on the Blue Origin flight in April. This time, the company continued work toward increasing the robustness of WIFI in space with an antenna designed to withstand the rigors of a rocket demonstration.

Also, onboard New Shepard was the Vibration Isolation Platform from Controlled Dynamics. Designed to isolate payloads from the disturbances of flight—the platform is also capable of creating environments required for a particular test scenario.

“A main advantage of the platform is that it can cancel out certain kinds of disturbances for anything that’s mounted to it, or it can introduce excitations at specific times to enhance an experiment,” said PI Scott Green. “This platform is destined to be a resource for future payloads.”

Green and his team flew a specific subset of the isolation technology on the flight, gathering data necessary to tune the full system for a future Blue Origin flight.

Other researchers leveraged the flight to gather data to reach specific goals.

Purdue University flew an experimental predictive technology for the control of liquid droplets and avoidance of liquid plugs in tubes—important considerations for condenser flow passage design in phase-change heat transfer systems. Such systems are advantageous for spaceflight because they provide better power capacity, lower volume and better temperature uniformity than single-phase systems.

“We’re flying the experiment to test our computer simulations so that we can publish that data and show the research community that our tool is useful for designing systems for the weightlessness of spaceflight,” said PI Steven Collicott.

Collicott also acknowledged that further development may be needed, depending on the results from the flight.

“A lot of the next steps are driven by discovery,” said Collicott. “We have to ask: What did we miss in our predictions? Are phenomena coming into play that we didn’t anticipate? You have to fly to be sure.”

Discovery is also key for a system designed to gather electromagnetic field measurements developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). The objective for this flight was to characterize the electromagnetic field environment inside the spacecraft to understand the potential effects of strong external and internally generated fields on the spacecraft and payloads.

Echoing the other PIs on the flight, PI H. Todd Smith noted the value of being able to secure suborbital demonstration through Flight Opportunities.

“Flight Opportunities is the only way we’ve been able to secure funding for flights,” Smith said. “We might not be doing what we’re doing today if it hadn’t been for the support NASA has provided for our technology development.”

Through the program, the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) selects promising technologies from industry, academia and government for testing. The Flight Opportunities program has helped to test and mature 136 technologies through 162 suborbital flights. The program is funded by STMD and managed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

“NASA needs technologies that enable space exploration,” said Ryan Dibley, NASA Flight Opportunities campaign manager. “The Flight Opportunities program funds flights on commercial suborbital vehicles to test these technologies in a relevant environment, enabling researchers to validate their technology, as well as fostering the public and private relationships that grow this nation’s economy.”

Source: NASA.Gov

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Blue Origin


Blue Origin

A Milestone Is Achieved for Orion's 2019 High-Altitude Abort Test...

NASA / Robert Markowitz

Team Powers On AA-2 Orion Module, Preps for Flight Test Simulation (News Release)

The team of engineers outfitting the Orion test article for Ascent Abort-2 have had a busy summer. Since the arrival of the empty capsule in March, the team at Johnson Space Center in Houston has outfitted the mock crew module with all the components it needs for flight and powered it on for the first time the week of July 8.

Powering on the vehicle is a big milestone toward the flight test and ensures the crew module works in an integrated fashion. Powering up Orion is a lot more complicated that simply flipping on a switch. The multi-day, incremental process began with teams applying power to the power distribution unit to ensure all the pins in the unit have the right voltages. One by one, additional systems were connected and powered to ensure that the vehicle is healthy and providing the right data. Engineers have positioned all of the core avionics, outfitted the data instrumentation, and routed and clamped almost 11 miles of harnessing inside Orion.

Ascent Abort-2 is a full-stress test of Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) planned for April 2019. It is the only remaining flight test of the active LAS before flying crew on Orion beginning with Exploration Mission-2, and it is essential for a system designed to carry humans to the Moon and beyond. The system is built to propel Orion and its crew to a safe distance away from the Space Launch System rocket if an emergency arises during launch.

Now that the power-on activity is complete, engineers are moving right into simulating the flight test, including ground support milestones, the prelaunch countdown and flight profile, followed by testing to verify that the vehicle will perform as expected. Upon completion of testing, technicians will have a few mechanical elements to finish integrating before the crew module is rolled on its side to verify its weight and center of gravity, both of which have to be the same as the Orion that will send crew to deep space to ensure the April flight test provides accurate data for a mission abort scenario.

The spacecraft will soon be shipped to Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, where it will undergo several weeks of acoustics testing. It will return to Johnson in the September timeframe for integration with the separation ring that connects the crew module to its booster, and then transported to the Kennedy Space Center for integration with the booster for launch.

Source: NASA.Gov

Photo of the Day: The first Space-worthy Crew Dragon Capsule Arrives in Florida for Launch Preparations...

SpaceX

Earlier this week, the Crew Dragon spacecraft that is slated to take flight on Demonstration Mission 1 by the end of this summer arrived at SpaceX's launch site in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida. This milestone occurred over a month after the Crew Dragon was transported to NASA's Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, to undergo thermal testing inside a vacuum chamber. With Crew Dragon now at CCAFS, the only component that needs to arrive is the Block 5 Falcon 9 booster that will lift Dragon on its unmanned journey to the International Space Station (ISS). Along with Boeing prepping its CST-100 Starliner for its inaugural orbital mission to the ISS later this year, SpaceX is close to giving America the ability to launch astronauts from U.S. soil once more.

New Hires at Mission Control...

NASA / Robert Markowitz

NASA Names Six New Flight Directors to Lead Mission Control (Press Release)

NASA has selected six women and men to join the elite corps of flight directors who will lead mission control for a variety of new operations at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The new flight directors will begin extensive training on flight control and vehicle systems, as well as operational leadership and risk management, before they are ready to sit behind the flight director console in mission control supporting NASA’s astronauts. When they do, they will become part of a group that numbers fewer than 100. This class will bring the total number of flight directors the agency has had to 97 since Christopher C. Kraft became the first flight director in 1958.

“This is an outstanding group of future tactical leaders for the Flight Operations Directorate,” said Brian Kelly, director of Flight Operations at Johnson. “We are excited to have them come on board.”

Joining the 26 active flight directors currently guiding mission control, this group will have the opportunity to oversee a variety of human spaceflight missions involving the International Space Station, including integrating American-made commercial crew spacecraft into the fleet of vehicles servicing the orbiting laboratory, as well as Orion spacecraft missions to the Moon and beyond.

“The job of flight director is not an easy one, and we make these selections very carefully,” said Holly Ridings, acting chief of the Flight Director Office at Johnson. “We had a great group of applicants, so we were able to choose six individuals who have worked in many areas of human spaceflight. They’ll bring a lot of good experience to the role that will serve NASA well as we undertake new and exciting missions.”

As flight directors, they will head teams of flight controllers, research and engineering experts, and support personnel around the world and make the real-time decisions critical to keeping NASA astronauts safe in space.

The new flight directors are:

Allison Bolinger (AL-luh-son BOWL-ing-er)

Bolinger, from Lancaster, Ohio, began her career at NASA as an intern in 2001, before earning her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Purdue University in 2004. Upon becoming a full-time NASA employee after graduation, she supported spacewalks in a variety of functions, including as a lead spacewalk flight controller for space shuttle Endeavour’s final mission, and several spacewalks since. Most recently, she has served as the deputy chief of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, managing the facility’s daily operations.

Adi Boulos (ADD-ee BOO-luss)

Boulos grew up in Palos Hills, Illinois, and Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He began his career at NASA in 2008 and was one of the first flight controllers managing the space station’s core system computer networks in a position, known as Communications RF Onboard Networks Utilization Specialist (CRONUS). In addition to serving as a CRONUS specialist flight controller and as a CRONUS instructor, Boulos also worked with the Orion Program on spacecraft system recovery processes after major malfunctions.

Jose Marcos Flores (MAR-cos FLOOR-es)

Flores, who considers Caguas, Puerto Rico, to be his hometown, interned at multiple NASA centers while working on his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez. He came to Johnson Space Center full time in 2010 as a systems engineer, helping to develop a new space station simulator. He went on to become a flight controller managing the station’s power and external thermal control in a position known as Station Power, ARticulation, Thermal, and Analysis (SPARTAN). He also earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Purdue University.

Pooja Joshi Jesrani (POO-juh jess-RAH-knee)

Jesrani was born in England but immigrated to Houston during childhood. Jesrani began interning with United Space Alliance (USA) before graduating from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering in 2007. In her work with USA and later NASA, she has supported the space station flight control team in many positions, including managing the life support and motion control systems, and then as a capsule communicator (CAPCOM), speaking directly with the astronauts in space. Recently, Jesrani has been working to integrate mission operations for upcoming commercial crew flights.

Paul Konyha III (PAWL CON-ya)

Konyha, was born in Manhasset, New York, and finished high school in Mandeville, Louisiana. He served in the United States Air Force from 1996 until 2016, when he retired as a lieutenant colonel after holding a number of operations, engineering and leadership positions for numerous space systems. Since then, he has led the design, test, operations and disposal of all Department of Defense (DOD) payloads on crewed spacecraft for the DOD’s Space Test Program office at Johnson Space Center. Konyha holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Louisiana Tech University and master’s degrees in military operational art and science, and science and astronautical engineering from Air University and the University of Southern California, respectively.

Rebecca J. Wingfield (re-BECK-uh WING-field)

Wingfield, from Princeton, Kentucky, interned at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky in 2007. She joined the flight control team at Johnson Space Center in 2007 as a contractor with United Space Alliance, overseeing maintenance tasks that the astronauts perform in space. She went on to become a CAPCOM, speaking to the crew on behalf of the control team, and a chief training officer, preparing space station crews for their missions. She also holds a master’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Houston – Clear Lake.

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