Curate, connect, and discover
One of the things I always find to be most fascinating about spaceflight is that I can be on the phone with a crew member who has called me from the space station while watching them fly over. And every time I always sit there like a dork and go [waves] "Hiiiii!" as if they can see me.
What aspect of spaceflight always blows your mind, even after all this time?
In my 28 years here, I've been able to participate in a lot of exciting missions, but out of all of the future missions we have planned the one I'm looking forward to the most is being a part of boots on the moon in 2024.
What future missions are you looking forward to the most?
Over my 28 years here, I've had the opportunity to work a number of different critical missions at NASA, particularly as a flight director. And each one of those missions has been an amazing honor to have the public's trust put in my hands.
But one of the aspects I like the most about it, which is also the scariest, is the fact that people's lives are in my hands. Decisions that I make can impact the lives of the crew members, the integrity of the vehicle, and the success of the mission, and I liked having that responsibility. I was honored to have that responsibility.
And I think if you are a flight director and you ever lose track of that, then it's time to stop being a flight director.
Before my question I would like to congratulate you on your career at Nasa, it must be amazing to work there even if you didn’t achieve your dream of being an astronaut, you can still lead missions from the ground. (Sorry if my punctuation is a bit off) as for my question, what has it been like to work at nasa all of these years and get to help with so many missions? Do you ever get nervous for the people who’s lives are in your hands? Signed ~ Phillip
Being a flight director was such an honor. I was only able to do it for eight years, but I loved every minute of it. My favorite part about that is being able to lead such talented teams.
I had a different team with me every day, different teams on different missions I supported, but the one consistent thing is that they are all dedicated to flying these vehicles safely, to protecting the crew, to executing the mission.
And it was just an honor to be able to lead them. I considered it a successful day if I didn't have to step in and I could just sit back and watch the team do their thing, and they are beautiful.
What was your favorite part of being a Flight Director?
Mission Control is a unique environment. The people who work there are the cream of the crop. The tops in their graduating classes, the high performers in industry. And so working in Mission control, my favorite thing is that I get to work with such uniquely talented people, and of all ages. So it's a place where we can all come together, everybody with their own skill set, and solve the day's problems.
What was your favorite thing about working in Mission Control? (Also, you are the best
When I learned that I had been medically disqualified from consideration of being an astronaut, I was devastated. My whole life, since I was five years old, I had set my sights on becoming an astronaut, and now I was told that would never happen. I was- I wanted to quit NASA. I wasn't sure what to do.
But then I took a step back and I realized: maybe I'm twenty-six years old and I don't know everything. Maybe there are other careers for me here at NASA that I've never considered because I was never aware of them. And I'm very grateful for the fact that I did take the time to think that because you know what? It was true.
Because I was not able to be an astronaut, I have been able to have what I think is a more fulfilling and impactful career here at NASA. So for those of you watching, if you have a dream that gets taken away from you, take a step back, reconsider it, and acknowledge that maybe you don't know everything. And there could be something even greater waiting for you out there.
How did you deal with the disappointment of being medically disqualified for astronaut candidacy?
My mother gave me the best advice I'd ever received, and it was "trust your instincts." I've applied that when I was afraid to go away to college, and she told me, "Trust your instincts, stay at home."
I've applied that every time I take on a new position where I'm afraid: I think I can do it, I'm not sure if I know everything that's required, but I'm pretty sure I could do it. So trust your instincts, even though you don't have all the information, believe in yourself and you can achieve great things.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Human space flight is very stressful, and particularly as a flight director with the responsibility for the safety of the crew and the integrity of the vehicle and the execution of the mission, I was very stressed during those years.
One of the things I love to do to de-stress is to run. So during the Expedition 14 mission, which was seven months long, I was very stressed. And I figured, hey, why not train for a marathon? So after training for several months, I actually ran a marathon.
And this is a picture of me [shows laptop screen] talking to the commander of the International Space Station, Mike E.L.A. He called my friend while I was at mile 23. Mile 23! I'm supposed to be focused! But she hands me the phone and he says, "Hey, I've had people posting at all the different mile markers and you are looking great out there, so..."
And I said, "Well, can I-can you call me back in like--mmm--thirty minutes because I might be across the finish line by then, and right now I'm kind of busy." ________________
Transciber note: She pronounces name of the commander of the ISS as “Mike Elay”, but a quick google shows that Michael E. Lopez-Alegria was the commander of Expedition 14. In case you were wondering about the three initials.
What do you do to relax in stressing situations?
Working at NASA has been an extraordinary experience and I have a lot of memories I can tell you are my favorite. But there's one in particular that stands out above the rest.
I was a new flight director, only been in the office for two years, and we were executing the STS-120 mission, where we were taking these solar arrays that are in blankets, and you put them up on board the space station and you unfold them like an accordion.
As we were unfolding one of them, we saw it rip. And by the time that the power discipline expert could make the array stop, we had a huge tear inside the solar array. After several meetings, it became clear that we were not going to be able to undock the shuttle in that configuration and we had to figure out a way to fix the solar array.
At that time I was working at what we called a team four. So three teams used to support the shuttle mission, but we always had a fourth team waiting in the background for something to go wrong. So at that point we called together a meeting and a young engineer showed up who was about 24/25 years old. And [he] said "Flight! I have a solution!"
So he walks into my meeting with this. [holds up object] And I said, "what is that?"
And he says, "It's a cufflink, Flight, and I made it out of spare parts that are available to the astronauts on the space station. And if you take this and you weave it through some of the holes and you pull it tight, we'll be able to secure the solar array."
And so sure enough, we were able to take this cufflink and a couple more like it, and put one of our tallest crew members on board a stacked set of robotic arms and he installed a cufflink. And that cufflink is there today and keeps the space station solar array structurally sound. So best moment ever. You never know what a 24/25 year old can accomplish.
What has been the best memory you have so far at NASA?
"Every job that I have had here, I have had to overcome challenges in order to succeed in it. Whether it's somebody telling me I can't be a flight director because I've never been a flight controller. Or I can't possibly manage a significant amount of budget and personnel because I've never been a low level line manager before.
And my--the way I live my life is you never know until you try. And a lot of people that take on these jobs are never fully prepared when they first start. But as long as you are fully prepared to acknowledge where you fall short and willing to go off and seek help from people who are masters in those areas, then you will succeed."
What challenges have you overcame to get to the job that you have now? Love from Ireland ❤️