Human Spaceflight

For centuries—in myth, art, and literature—human beings have imagined themselves flying into space. But this dream was not realized until the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made one orbit around Earth on April 12, 1961. Three weeks later, Alan Shepard became the first NASA astronaut to rocket into space.

There has been considerable technological advancement since then. The Apollo lunar missions, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station have improved the capacity of humans to explore our solar system further. However, no humans have traveled beyond Earth's orbit since the Apollo 17 mission returned from the moon in December 1972.

That will soon change. In 2010, NASA will retire the Space Shuttle fleet and focus its efforts on readying newly designed spacecraft to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 and launching the first missions to Mars—a nearly three-year round-trip voyage in space that, so far, has been only the stuff of science fiction.

Featured at the Festival:

John Allen, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
John serves as program executive for crew health and safety and as a liaison to the chief medical officer. He served for twenty-six years in the U.S. Air Force as a clinical audiologist, research scientist, and biomedical specialist, with an emphasis on hearing and balance disorders, before retiring at the rank of colonel in 2006.

Lynn Cline, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
As deputy associate administrator for Space Operations, Lynn oversees a broad variety of capabilities across the NASA space operations programs, including the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, space communications and navigation, launch services for NASA missions, and crew health and safety. She works closely with the Executive Branch and with NASA's international partner agencies.

Pamela Covington, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
As manager of the External Affairs and Education Office, Pam supervises and manages programs, processes, policies, and issues that affect education and public affairs. She previously directed the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management Office at NASA Headquarters, where she advised management on all equal opportunity matters.

Richard DeLombard, Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Richard is an internationally recognized expert in microgravity measurement and interpretation and has demonstrated microgravity and orbital mechanics to educators and students for over fifteen years. He has measured and analyzed microgravity conditions in support of science investigations on over twenty Space Shuttle missions, Russia's Mir space station, and the International Space Station.

Dave Edwards, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Dave is an internationally recognized expert in space environmental effects on materials. He has designed, assembled, and operated multiple space environment test facilities and worked with numerous NASA spacecraft programs to assess spacecraft materials performance in mission-defined space environments. Presently, he leads the Natural Environments Branch at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

Patrick Forrester, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
As an astronaut, Pat has logged more than 620 hours in space, including four spacewalks. His career with NASA began in 1993 as an aerospace engineer, before becoming qualified as a mission specialist in 1996. Prior to NASA, Pat served as a master aviator and engineer test pilot with the U.S. Army.

William Gerstenmaier, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
As the associate administrator for Space Operations, Bill directs NASA's human exploration of space, with programmatic oversight of the International Space Station, Space Shuttle, space communications, and space launch vehicles. He has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executives. He previously worked at the Glenn Research Center, Johnson Space Center, and Star City in Russia.

David Haakenson, Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
As a senior software engineer, David is currently managing the environmental control and life support software development for Orion, the nation's next crewed spacecraft. He has also worked on the extravehicular activity infrared camera that examines the Space Shuttle after launch.

Nancy Rabel Hall, Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Nancy is a research scientist in the Space Processes and Experiments Division. Her main area of research is fluid physics and how fluids behave in reduced-gravity environments. She is currently technical lead for several projects to develop environmental control and life-support system technologies. She also demonstrates the reduced-gravity environment to educators, students, and the public.

Michael Hawes, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
As deputy associate administrator for program integration in Space Operations, Mike is responsible for the transition and disposition of Space Shuttle assets in preparation for retirement of the Shuttle in 2010. He previously served as the deputy associate administrator for the International Space Station, directing the Space Station budget, establishing and implementing Station policy, and coordinating external communications and liaison activities with Congress, industry, and the Station's international partners.

William Hill, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Bill is assistant associate administrator for the Space Shuttle Program and has led critical activities to prepare and deliver the Space Shuttle to safe flight following the loss of the Columbia crew and vehicle. He is currently focused on how to transition the Shuttle into retirement and help initiate the effort to return to the moon and Mars.

Carol Jacobs, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
A mechanical engineer, Carol serves as the project engineer for the Space Shuttle Main Engine preburners, main injector, combustion chamber, and nozzle. Since joining NASA in 1983, Carol has worked on the design, development, and testing of liquid rocket-engine combustion devices hardware.

Thomas Jones, NASA Astronaut, Retired
Tom is a scientist, author, pilot, and former astronaut. He holds a doctorate in planetary sciences and flew on four Space Shuttle missions. On his last flight, Tom led three spacewalks to install the American Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station. He spent fifty-three days living and working in space. His most recent book is Sky Walking: An Astronaut's Memoir (2006).

Humberto Sanchez, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Humberto currently works in the Mission Operations Directorate and will soon transition to the Constellation Program's Operations Integration Office. He has broad experience in Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) flight operations integration and is responsible for integrating many of the Space Shuttle and ISS program elements with mission requirements.

Frederick Sturckow, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
As an astronaut, Rick has logged more than 900 hours in space. He has piloted two Space Shuttle missions, including the first International Space Station assembly mission in 1998, and served as the crew commander on a 2007 mission. Rick joined NASA in 1994 and has served a number of positions in the Astronaut Office.

Timothy Ryan Tawney, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Timothy has worked for the past six years as an international programs specialist in the Office of External Relations. He came to NASA in June 2000 as a Presidential Management Fellow and worked in the Office of Space Flight and at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the Office of Public Affairs.

Pierre Thuot, U. S. Navy, Retired
As an astronaut from 1985 to 1995, Pierre traveled 11.4 million miles and orbited the Earth 437 times. He logged over 654 hours in space, including 17.7 hours on three space walks. Pierre retired from the U.S. Navy as captain in 1998 and since then has worked in various capacities with the Orbital Sciences Corporation, Arthur Andersen, HawkEye Systems, and CMX Technologies.

Debbie Ramos Trainor, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
In her twenty-plus years at NASA, Debbie has held various training positions in the spaceflight training program, including a one-year tour as the NASA training coordinator in Russia and the training manager for the first crew to fly onboard the International Space Station. She is currently the training specialist in the Astronaut Office.

Mark Uhran, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
As assistant associate administrator for the International Space Station in Space Operations, Mark evaluates practical applications and research capabilities of orbital space stations. In the private sector and at NASA, he has held management positions related to strategic planning for operations and utilization of the Space Station.

Ron Woods, Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida
Ron has worked in various capacities, as space-suit technician, support technician, and insertion technician and has had the honor of assisting the crews of Apollo 8, Apollo 11, Apollo 15, three Skylab missions, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and the first two Shuttle missions. Since 1982, Ron has processed the flight crew equipment before its installation into the Space Shuttle Orbiter.

International Space Station

In 1923, German physicist Hermann Oberth first used the term "space station" to imagine a wheellike facility that served as a jumping-off point for travel to the moon and Mars. In 1952, Wernher von Braun, one of Oberth's former students in Germany and later the first director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, developed his own concept of a space station—250 feet in diameter, orbiting 1,000 miles above Earth.

The Soviet Union launched the world's first actual space station, Salyut 1, in 1971; and the United States followed with the Skylab "orbital workshop" missions of 1973–1974. In 1986, the USSR launched the first modules of the Mir space station, which remained operational until 2001.

In 1998, Canada, Japan, Russia, participating countries of the European Space Agency, and the United States signed an intergovernmental agreement on International Space Station cooperation. The first two modules of the station were launched and joined together in 1998, and two years later, the first crew members arrived. Fifteen nations are currently working together as partners to complete the space station by 2010.

Coming to the Festival:
Patrick Buzzard, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
After living and working for seven years in Russia to support NASA's International Space Station (ISS) Program, Patrick returned to the United States. As the ISS strategic outreach and partnerships specialist, his duties include enhancing internal communications within the ISS Program, promoting and supporting educational and outreach efforts, and facilitating the development of collaborative efforts with industry, academia, and U.S. government agencies.

Gary Kitmacher, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Gary is a manager in the International Space Station (ISS) Program Office. He developed the ISS Interactive Web Guide on nasa.gov and wrote the award-winning ISS Reference Guide. Gary also designed the modules of the Space Station and moon bases in the 1980s and, while working in Russia, Kazakhstan, and the United States, managed the Spacehab and Mir Shuttle missions in the 1990s.
 
Sam Ortega, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Sam has worked as a structural analyst, microgravity scientist, and solid rocket propulsion engineer. Although Sam graduated from high school in Texas, he attended nine different schools from first grade through college and claims a majority of the United States as his hometown. Moving around the United States provided him a rich background and a desire to experience new things.

Launch and Mission Control

"Five-Four-Three-Two-One"
Most of us are familiar with the final five-second countdown just before a Space Shuttle lifts off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. What we may not know, however, is that the actual countdown starts forty hours earlier at Kennedy's Launch Control Center, where computers automatically monitor most assembly, checkout, and launch procedures, and NASA engineers oversee the operation.

Seven seconds after liftoff, when the Shuttle clears the service tower on the launch pad, command shifts immediately to the Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, often known simply as "Houston." In this facility, roughly thirty flight controllers constantly monitor the crew's activities and the spacecraft's systems, helping to ensure that all operations proceed as planned.

The Mission Control Center remains ever vigilant until the Shuttle orbiter rolls to a stop, typically on the Kennedy's paved Shuttle Landing Facility—15,000 feet long and 300 feet wide. At that point, the Kennedy Space Center once again assumes control.

Coming to the Festival:
Christine Chiodo, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Christine has worked for more than eighteen years as a flight controller and crew trainer. She helped establish NASA at the Russian mission control center during Shuttle-Mir and now manages the Training Integration Branch, which is responsible for integrating and implementing crew-training plans for NASA and its international partners from Europe, Japan, Russia, and Canada.

Sally Davis, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Sally recently became Shuttle safety manager with the Space Shuttle Program Office. Previously, Sally worked for twenty-eight years in Mission Operations, including twelve years as a NASA flight director who helped assemble and operate the International Space Station.
 
Tuan Manh Doan, Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida
Tuan has worked at NASA for twenty years and is currently with the Launch Services Program. He supports communications and telemetry for Expendable Launch Vehicles, including the Delta, Atlas, and Pegasus at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

George Haddad, Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida
As an aerospace engineer, George has supported the integration and launch of many of NASA's scientific and planetary missions, such as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, the GOES weather satellites, the Cassini mission, the Gravity Probe B mission, and, recently, the STEREO mission. He is principal investigator for several research projects and is developing the Constellation Program's ground systems.

Tiffany Nail, Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida
Tiffany is a specialist for NASA's Launch Services Program. She is frequently in front of the camera as the host of NASA's webcast of prelaunch coverage and behind the camera as an award-winning producer of expendable launch vehicle videos.

Space Shuttle

Dennis Chamberland, Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida
As technical representative for the Life Sciences Contract, Dennis oversees the advanced life-support systems under consideration for moon and Mars bases, as well as medical operations, human subject research, and environmental monitoring. Dennis previously worked as a NASA aquanaut, directing twelve underwater missions, including the first to plant and harvest an agricultural crop on the ocean floor.

Joseph Lavelle, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
As a senior research engineer, Joe manages the 3D vision research laboratory, where he has worked for the last twenty-three years. His laboratory has produced 3D vision systems for critical NASA applications, including inspection and evaluation of Space Shuttle tiles, health monitoring of spacecraft, planetary rover guidance, and terrain mapping. He received the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2007.

Maria Lott, Stennis Space Center, Hancock County, Mississippi
Maria has been director of Astro Camp since 1995 and is the lead teacher for Hancock County Schools in Mississippi. She has twenty-five years of teaching experience, specializing in math and science. She strives to engage students in hands-on learning activities and inspire the next generations with a love for lifelong learning.

David Rainer, Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida
As a NASA test director in the Shuttle Processing Directorate, David is responsible for overseeing NASA-managed activities for Space Shuttle launch countdown and landing operations. He works in association with Shuttle launch management to improve prelaunch processes and enhance launch and landing activities.

Nathan Sovik, Stennis Space Center, Hancock County, Mississippi
Nathan serves as the university affairs officer and has expertise in environmental policy modeling and analysis, geographic information systems and remote sensing, software design, and systems integration. His current research interests include the development of Web-based geospatial applications and management information systems. He has taught and carried out research in Europe, Africa, and the United States.

Katie Veal Wallace, Stennis Space Center, Hancock County, Mississippi
Katie is an electrical engineer who has worked in propulsion testing and remote sensing at Stennis. She has done extensive work in instrumentation, control systems, and data collection for all Stennis test stands. She is currently the elementary and secondary education lead, helping to bring the excitement of NASA to school-age children.

Food Lab

Food in Space
The public has long been curious about the food that astronauts bring into space. The first American astronauts dined on freeze-dried foods and semi-liquids squeezed from tubes, but "cosmic cuisine" has improved tremendously since then. Today, astronauts rely on four types of space food: rehydratable, thermostabilzed, irradiated, and natural-form items. Beverages come as powders that are combined with water.

The meals eaten onboard the Space Shuttle and International Space Station are prepared on Earth; many of them are commercially available in grocery stores. Food items have to be carefully packaged to prevent their floating in the microgravity of space; special straws facilitate drinking, and cutlery is magnetic.

For future missions lasting several years to Mars and beyond, nutritional needs become even more important. To ensure a balanced diet, astronauts will have to grow fruits, vegetables, and grains, and be their own cooks.

Coming to the Festival:
Jennifer J. Brogan, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Jennifer works as a food scientist charged with providing food for the astronauts onboard the International Space Station. She has a degree from the University of Illinois in food science and human nutrition. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys running and helping charitable organizations, such as the End Hunger Network.

Vickie Kloeris, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
As subsystem manager for the International Space Station and Shuttle food systems, Vickie's responsibilities include menu planning for crewmembers, provision of flight-food ship-ments, and the development of new foods for the Space Station.

Kimberly Glaus Läte, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Kimberly leads the team in the Space Food Systems Laboratory at Johnson by producing the American portion of the flight food for the International Space Station. She has several years of experience in the food industry, including product development and production of wine; rice side dishes; and dehydrated, freeze-dried, and thermostabilized food products.

Sylvia Lai, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Sylvia is employed by Lockheed Martin as senior research scientist supporting NASA's Advanced Food Technology group. She is an innovative research and development professional and has assisted in the creation of numerous new food products. Her research investigates the effect of nutrients in mitigating bone loss.

Thomas Oziomek, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Tom works as a packaging engineer in the Space Food Systems Laboratory, where he manages the packaging materials used onboard the Shuttle and International Space Station. He is also researching which new packaging structures can be used on future long-duration lunar and Mars missions. In his spare time, Tom enjoys riding his motorcycle and working with computers.

Michele Perchonok, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
As manager of the Advanced Food Technology Project, Michele works with food scientists and officials in academia, industry, and government to coordinate projects that will contribute to manned missions to the moon and Mars. She also manages the Shuttle Food System and is an Institute of Food Technologists Fellow.

Further Reading:

NASA Talk
A program sign (in pdf format)

So you want to be an astronaut?
A program sign (in pdf format)

Risks of Spaceflight
A program sign (in pdf format)