The stars in the big Wyoming skies inspired Aaron Vigil as a child to dream big. Today, he’s a mechanical engineer working on the Solar Array Sun Shield (SASS) for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at Goddard. Name: Aaron VigilTitle: Mechanical EngineerFormal Job Classification: Aerospace Technology, Flight StructuresOrganization: Mechanical Engineering, Engineering and Technology Directorate (Code 543) Aaron Vigil is a mechanical engineer at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Photo courtesy of Aaron Vigil What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How…
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Regina Caputo Charts the Future of High-Energy Astrophysics
Research astrophysicist Regina Caputo puzzles out how the universe works by studying the most extreme events in the cosmos. Name: Regina CaputoTitle: Research Astrophysicist Organization: Astroparticle Physics Laboratory (Code 661) Regina Caputo is a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. She focuses on technology development and support for gamma-ray telescopes. Photo credit: NASA/David Friedlander What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I’m a research astrophysicist in the particle astrophysics lab at Goddard. I’m really interested in the most…
Read MoreThere Are No Imaginary Boundaries for Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana
Lee esta entrevista en español aquí Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana would look up at the sky and marvel at the immensity of space when she was younger. Now, the bounds are limitless as she helps NASA explore the expansive universe by computing the trajectories and maneuvers to get a spacecraft into space. Name: Dr. Ariadna Farrés-BasianaTitle: Astrodynamics and solar radiation pressure specialist, Formal Job Classification: Scientific collaboratorOrganization Navigation and Mission Design Branch (Code 595) Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana is an astrodynamics and solar radiation pressure specialist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center…
Read MoreI am Artemis: John Campbell
John Campbell, a logistics engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, stands on NASA’s Pegasus barge July 15. NASA How do you move NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s massive 212-foot-long core stage across the country? You do it with a 300-foot-long barge. However, NASA’s Pegasus barge isn’t just any barge. It’s a vessel with a history, and John Campbell, a logistics engineer for the agency based at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is one of the few people who get to be a part of its…
Read MoreJake Cupani: Increasing Visibility in Data Science
Jake Cupani, a data science specialist, focuses on the intersection between data visualization and user experience — UX — design. Name: Jake CupaniTitle: Financial analytics support specialistOrganization: Financial Analytics and Systems Office, Office of the Chief Financial Officer (Code 156) Jake Cupani is a financial analytics support specialist at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Photo courtesy of Jake Cupani What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I create data visualizations and dashboards to help visualize some of the key metrics…
Read MoreNASA Engineer Honored as Girl Scouts ‘Woman of Distinction’
4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Danielle Koch, an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, was honored by the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio as a 2024 Woman of Distinction. She accepted the award during a ceremony on May 16. Credit: Girl Scouts of North East Ohio/Andrew Jordan You’d think a NASA aerospace engineer who spends her days inside a giant dome researching how to make plane engines quieter and spacecraft systems more efficient would have a pretty booked schedule. Still,…
Read MoreAstronaut Nicole Mann Throws First Pitch at Giants-Angels Game
NASA/Brandon Torres NASA astronaut Nicole Mann waves as she is introduced before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the San Francisco Giants versus Los Angeles Angels game at Oracle Park in San Francisco on June 14, 2024. Mann was honored for her accomplishments at the Giants’ Native American Heritage Night. She is the first Indigenous woman from NASA to go to space, having served as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission, which launched in 2022.
Read MoreLakita Lowe: Leading Space Commercialization Innovations and Fostering STEM Engagement
Lakita Lowe is at the forefront of space commercialization, seamlessly merging scientific expertise with visionary leadership to propel NASA’s commercial ambitions and ignite a passion for STEM in future generations. As a project integrator for NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program (CLDP), Lowe leverages her extensive background in scientific research and biomedical studies to bridge the gap between science and commercial innovation. Lowe recently supported both planning and real-time operations contributing to the successful completion of the Axiom-3 private astronaut mission which launched in January 2024 and is gearing…
Read MoreNASA Earns Best Place to Work in Government for 12 Straight Years
2023 image capturing the Sun’s glint in between a cloudy stretch of the south Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina. Credits: NASA NASA was named Thursday as the 2023 Best Place to Work in the Federal Government – large agency – for the 12th year in a row by the Partnership for Public Service. The title serves as a reflection of employee satisfaction with the workplace and functioning of the overall agency as NASA explores the unknown and discovers new knowledge for the benefit of humanity. “Once again, NASA…
Read MoreAstronaut Suni Williams Prepares for Crew Flight Test
NASA/Frank Micheaux NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronaut Suni Williams gives a thumbs up during a mission dress rehearsal on Friday, April 26, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and has been aboard the International Space Station twice. She is set to return to the space station for a third time, traveling aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft as pilot. NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore will also be aboard as commander. Starliner is scheduled to liftoff atop a United Launch…
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