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By NASA
Rebecca Mataya is a budget analyst at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. “Whether you are an engineer, analyst, lawyer, technician, communicator or innovator, there is a place for you here at NASA,” she said. “Every skill contributes to the greater mission of pushing the boundaries of exploration, discovery, and progress. If you have a passion, determination, and willingness to learn, NASA is a place where you can grow and leave a lasting impact on the future of space.”NASA/Stennis A career path can unfold in unexpected ways. Ask NASA’s Rebecca Mataya.
The journey to NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, was not planned but “meant to be,” she said.
While working for a local business, the Picayune, Mississippi, native frequently delivered items to NASA Stennis. While making a delivery, Mataya noticed a construction worker who needed directions while waiting to receive a NASA Stennis visitor’s badge.
“I stepped in by offering a map and highlighting the way,” Mataya said.
This small moment of initiative caught the attention of the receptionist, who mentioned an opening at NASA Stennis. She noted that Mataya’s approach to the situation displayed the NASA Stennis culture of hospitality and a can-do attitude.
“The rest is history,” she said. “Looking back, it was not just about finding a job – it was about NASA Stennis finding me, and me discovering a place where I would build a fulfilling career.”
Since the first day of work when Mataya walked into NASA Stennis “in complete awe,” she has felt like every day is a learning experience filled with “wow” moments, like seeing a test stand up close and meeting rocket engineers.
The Carriere, Mississippi, resident worked as a support contractor from 2008 to 2022, filling various roles from lead security support specialist to technical writer and program manager.
Her career path has progressed, where each role built upon the previous.
As a budget analyst in the NASA Stennis Office of the Chief Financial Officer since 2022, Mataya oversees the planning, programing, budgeting, and execution of funds for all Office of Strategic Infrastructure work within the NASA Stennis Center Operations Directorate. She also manages budgets for the NASA Stennis Construction of Facilities projects, and the congressionally approved Supplemental Funding portfolio.
“It is a role that requires adaptability, strategic thinking, and financial oversight,” she said. “I have cultivated these skills through years of experience, but more than that, it is a role that allows me to contribute something meaningful to the future of NASA and space exploration.”
Mataya will complete a master’s degree in Business Administration from Mississippi State University in May. She previously earned her bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State and an associate degree from Pearl River Community College.
“My career has been shaped by growth and achievement, but the greatest highlight has always been the incredible people I have had the privilege of working with,” she said. “Walking the halls of NASA, where top leaders recognize me by name, is a testament to the trust and relationships I have built over the years.”
Mataya said supervisors have consistently entrusted her with more complex projects, confident in her ability to rise to the challenge and deliver results. As a result, she has had opportunities to mentor interns and early-career professionals, guiding them as others once guided her.
“Seeing my colleagues succeed and knowing they have reached their goals, and championing their progress along the way, remains one of the most rewarding aspects of my career,” she said.
Mataya knows from experience that NASA Stennis offers opportunity and a supportive environment, not only for employees looking for career growth, but to customers seeking world-class testing facilities. “NASA Stennis is a place where collaboration thrives,” she said. “It is where NASA, tenants, and commercial partners come together as one cohesive community with a culture of mutual respect, support, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. As America’s largest rocket propulsion test site, NASA Stennis is evolving, and I look forward to seeing how our technological advancements attract new commercial partners and expand NASA’s capabilities.”
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By NASA
If you design a new tool for use on Earth, it is easy to test and practice using that tool in its intended environment. But what if that tool is destined for lunar orbit or will be used by astronauts on the surface of the Moon?
NASA’s Simulation and Graphics Branch can help with that. Based at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the branch’s high-fidelity, real-time graphical simulations support in-depth engineering analyses and crew training, ensuring the safety, efficiency, and success of complex space endeavors before execution. The team manages multiple facilities that provide these simulations, including the Prototype Immersive Technologies (PIT) Lab, Virtual Reality Training Lab, and the Systems Engineering Simulator (SES).
Lee Bingham is an aerospace engineer on the simulation and graphics team. His work includes developing simulations and visualizations for the NASA Exploration Systems Simulations team and providing technical guidance on simulation and graphics integration for branch-managed facilities. He also leads the branch’s human-in-the-loop Test Sim and Graphics Team, the Digital Lunar Exploration Sites Unreal Simulation Tool (DUST), and the Lunar Surface Mixed-Reality with the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) projects.
Lee Bingham demonstrates a spacewalk simulator for the Gateway lunar space station during NASA’s Tech Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham Bingham is particularly proud of his contributions to DUST, which provides a 3D visualization of the Moon’s South Pole and received Johnson’s Exceptional Software of the Year Award in 2024. “It was designed for use as an early reference to enable candidate vendors to perform initial studies of the lunar terrain and lighting in support of the Strategy and Architecture Office, human landing system, and the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program,” Bingham explained. DUST has supported several human-in-the-loop studies for NASA. It has also been shared with external collaborators and made available to the public through the NASA Software Catalog.
Bingham has kept busy during his nearly nine years at Johnson and said learning to manage and balance support for multiple projects and customers was very challenging at first. “I would say ‘yes’ to pretty much anything anyone asked me to do and would end up burning myself out by working extra-long hours to meet milestones and deliverables,” he said. “It has been important to maintain a good work-life balance and avoid overcommitting myself while meeting demanding expectations.”
Lee Bingham tests the Lunar Surface Mixed Reality and Active Response Gravity Offload System trainer at Johnson Space Center. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham Bingham has also learned the importance of teamwork and collaboration. “You can’t be an expert at everything or do everything yourself,” he said. “Develop your skills, practice them regularly, and master them over time but be willing to ask for help and advice. And be sure to recognize and acknowledge your coworkers and teammates when they go above and beyond or achieve something remarkable.”
Lee Bingham (left) demonstrates a lunar rover simulator for Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham He hopes that the Artemis Generation will be motivated to tackle difficult challenges and further NASA’s mission to benefit humanity. “Be sure to learn from those who came before you, but be bold and unafraid to innovate,” he advised.
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By NASA
On March 24, 1975, the last in a long line of super successful Saturn rockets rolled out from the vehicle assembly building to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Saturn IB rocket for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the 19th in the Saturn class stacked in the assembly building, beginning in 1966 with the Saturn V 500F facilities checkout vehicle. Thirteen flight Saturn V rockets followed, 12 to launch Apollo spacecraft and one to place the Skylab space station into orbit. In addition, workers stacked four flight Saturn IB rockets, three to launch crews to Skylab and one for Apollo-Soyuz, plus another for the Skylab rescue vehicle that was not needed and never launched. Previously, workers stacked Saturn I and Saturn IB rockets on the pads at Launch Complexes 34 and 37. With the successful liftoff in July 1975, the Saturn family of rockets racked up a 100 percent success rate of 32 launches.
Workers lower the Apollo command and service modules onto the spacecraft adaptor.NASA Technicians in the assembly building replace the fins on the Saturn IB rocket’s first stage. NASA Workers in the assembly building prepare to lower the spacecraft onto its Saturn IB rocket.NASA Inspections of the Saturn IB rocket’s first stage fins revealed hairline cracks in several hold-down fittings and managers ordered the replacement of all eight fins. While the cracks would not affect the flight of the rocket they bore the weight of the rocket on the mobile launcher. Workers finished the fin replacement on March 16. Engineers in Kennedy’s spacecraft operations building prepared the Apollo spacecraft for its historic space mission. By early March, they had completed checkout and assembly of the spacecraft and transported it to the assembly building on March 17 to mount it atop the Saturn IB’s second stage. Five days later, they topped off the rocket with the launch escape system.
The final Saturn IB begins its rollout from the vehicle assembly building. NASA The Saturn IB passes by the Launch Control Center. NASA Apollo astronauts Thomas Stafford, left, Vance Brand, and Donald “Deke” Slayton pose in front of their Saturn IB during the rollout.NASA On March 23, workers edged the mobile transporter carrying the Saturn IB just outside the assembly building’s High Bay 1, where engineers installed an 80-foot tall lightning mast atop the launch tower. The next morning, the stack continued its rollout to Launch Pad 39B with the prime crew of Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand, and Donald “Deke” Slayton and support crew members Robert Crippen and Richard Truly on hand to observe. About 7,500 people, including guests, dependents of Kennedy employees and NASA Tours patrons, watched as the stack moved slowly out of the assembly building on its five-mile journey to the launch pad.
Mission Control in Houston during the joint simulation with Flight Director Donald Puddy in striped shirt and a view of Mission Control in Moscow on the large screen at left. NASA A group of Soviet flight controllers in a support room in Mission Control in Houston during the joint simulation. NASA On March 20, flight controllers and crews began a series of joint simulations for the joint mission scheduled for July 1975. For the six days of simulations, cosmonauts Aleksei Leonov and Valeri Kubasov and astronauts Stafford, Brand, and Slayton participated in the activity in spacecraft simulators in their respective countries, with both control centers in Houston and outside Moscow fully staffed as if for the actual mission. The exercises simulated various phases of the mission, including the respective launches, rendezvous and docking, crew transfers and joint operations, and undocking.
Astronauts Thomas Stafford, left, Vance Brand, and Donald “Deke” Slayton in a boilerplate Apollo command module preparing for the water egress training. NASA Stafford, left, Slayton, and Brand in the life raft during water egress training. NASA Astronauts Stafford, Brand and Slayton participated in a water egress training activity on March 8, completing the exercise in a water tank in Building 260 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The astronauts practiced egressing from their spacecraft onto a lift raft and being lifted up with the use of a Billy Pugh rescue net. They practiced wearing their flight coveralls as well as their spacesuits.
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By NASA
On March 23, 1965, the United States launched the Gemini III spacecraft with astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young aboard, America’s first two-person spaceflight. Grissom earned the honor as the first person to enter space twice and Young as the first member of the second group of astronauts to fly in space. During their three-orbit flight they carried out the first orbital maneuvers of a crewed spacecraft, a critical step toward demonstrating rendezvous and docking. Grissom and Young brought Gemini 3 to a safe splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. Their ground-breaking mission led the way to nine more successful Gemini missions in less than two years to demonstrate the techniques required for a Moon landing. Gemini 3 marked the last spaceflight controlled from Cape Kennedy, that function shifting permanently to a new facility in Houston.
In one of the first uses of the auditorium at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, managers announce the prime and backup Gemini III crews. NASA NASA astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young, the Gemini III prime crew. NASA Grissom, foreground, and Young in their capsule prior to launch.NASA On April 13, 1964, just five days after the uncrewed Gemini I mission, in the newly open auditorium at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Director Robert Gilruth introduced the Gemini III crew to the press. NASA assigned Mercury 4 veteran Grissom and Group 2 astronaut Young as the prime crew, with Mercury 8 veteran Walter Schirra and Group 2 astronaut Thomas Stafford serving as their backups. The primary goals of Project Gemini included proving the techniques required for the Apollo Program to fulfil President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth before the end of the 1960s. Demonstrating rendezvous and docking between two spacecraft ranked as a high priority for Project Gemini.
Liftoff of Gemini III.NASA The uncrewed Gemini I and II missions validated the spacecraft’s design, reliability, and heat shield, clearing the way to launch Gemini III with a crew. On March 23, 1965, after donning their new Gemini spacesuits, Grissom and Young rode the transfer van to Launch Pad 19 at Cape Kennedy in Florida. They rode the elevator to their Gemini spacecraft atop its Titan II rocket where technicians assisted them in climbing into the capsule. At 9:24 a.m. EST, the Titan’s first stage engines ignited, and Gemini III rose from the launch pad.
The Mission Control Center at Cape Kennedy in Florida during Gemini III, controlling a human spaceflight for the final time.NASA The Mission Control Center at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, monitoring the Gemini III mission.NASA Five and a half minutes after launch, the Titan II’s second stage engine cut off and the spacecraft separated to begin its orbital journey. Grissom became the first human to enter space a second time. While engineers monitored the countdown from the Launch Pad 19 blockhouse, once in orbit flight controllers in the Mission Control Center at the Cape took over. Controllers in the new Mission Control Center at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now the Johnson Space Center in Houston, staffed consoles and monitored the mission in a backup capacity. Beginning with Gemini IV, control of all American human spaceflights shifted permanently to the Houston facility.
Gemini III entered an orbit of 100 miles by 139 miles above the Earth. Near the end of the first orbit, while passing over Texas, Grissom and Young fired their spacecraft’s thrusters for one minute, 14 seconds. “They appear to be firing good,” said Young, confirming the success of the maneuver. The change in velocity adjusted their orbit to 97 miles by 105 miles. A second burn 45 minutes later altered the orbital inclination by 0.02 degrees. Another task for the crew involved testing new food and packaging developed for Gemini. As an off-the-menu item, Young had stowed a corned beef on rye sandwich in his suit pocket before flight, and both he and Grissom took a bite before stowing it away, concerned about crumbs from the sandwich floating free in the cabin.
Shortly after splashdown, Gemini III astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom exits the spacecraft as crewmate John Young waits in the life raft. NASA Sailors hoist the Gemini III spacecraft aboard the prime recovery ship U.S.S. Intrepid.NASA Young, left, and Grissom stand with their spacecraft aboard Intrepid. NASA Near the end of their third revolution, Grissom and Young prepared for the retrofire burn to bring them out of orbit. They oriented Gemini III with its blunt end facing forward and completed a final orbital maneuver to lower the low point of their orbit to 45 miles, ensuring reentry even if the retrorockets failed to fire. They jettisoned the rearmost adapter section, exposing the retrorockets that fired successfully, bringing the spacecraft out of orbit. They jettisoned the retrograde section, exposing Gemini’s heat shield. Minutes later, they encountered the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere at 400,000 feet, and he buildup of ionized gases caused a temporary loss of communication between the spacecraft and Mission Control. At 50,000 feet, Grissom deployed the drogue parachute to stabilize and slow the spacecraft, followed by the main parachute at 10,600 feet. Splashdown occurred in the Atlantic Ocean near Grand Turk Island, about 52 miles short of the planned point, after a flight of 4 hours, 52 minutes, 31 seconds.
Gemini III astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, left, and John Young upon their return to Cape Kennedy in Florida. NASA Grissom and Young at the postflight press conference. NASA The welcome home ceremony for Grissom and Young at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.NASA A helicopter recovered Grissom and Young and delivered them to the deck of the U.S.S. Intrepid, arriving there one hour and 12 minutes after splashdown. On board the carrier, the astronauts received a medical checkup and a telephone call from President Lyndon B. Johnson. The ship sailed to pick up the spacecraft and sailors hoisted it aboard less than three hours after landing. The day after splashdown, Grissom and Young flew to Cape Kennedy for debriefings, a continuation of the medical examinations begun on the carrier, and a press conference. Following visits to the White House, New York, and Chicago, the astronauts returned home to Houston on March 31. The next day, Gilruth welcomed them back to the Manned Spacecraft Center, where in front of the main administration building, workers raised an American flag that Grissom and Young had carried on their mission. That flag flew during every subsequent Gemini mission.
During the Gemini III welcome home ceremony in front of the main administration building at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, workers raise an American flag that the astronauts had carried on their mission. NASA
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