Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
The National Society of Professional Engineers recently named Debbie Korth, Orion deputy program manager at Johnson Space Center, as NASA’s 2025 Engineer of the Year. Korth was recognized during an award ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 21, alongside honorees from 17 other federal agencies. The annual awards program honors the impactful contributions of federal engineers and their commitment to public service.
Debbie Korth received the NASA 2025 Engineer of the Year Award from the National Society of Professional Engineers at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Image courtesy of Debbie Korth Korth said she was shocked to receive the award. “At NASA there are so many brilliant, talented engineers who I get to work with every day who are so specialized and know so much about a certain area,” she said. “It was very surprising, but very appreciated.”
Korth has dedicated more than 30 years of her career to NASA, supporting human spaceflight development, integration, and operations across the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and Orion Programs. Her earliest roles involved extravehicular and mission operations planning, as well as managing spaceflight hardware for shuttle missions and space station crews. Working on hardware such as the Crew Health Care System in the early days of space station planning and development was a unique experience for Korth.
After spending significant time in Russia collaborating with Russian counterparts to integrate equipment such as a treadmill, cycle ergometer, and blood pressure monitor into their module, Korth recalled, “When we finally got that all delivered and integrated, it was a huge step because we had to have all of that on board before we could put crew members on the station for the first time. I remember feeling a huge sense of accomplishment and happiness that we were able to work through this international partnership and forge those relationships to get that hardware integrated.”
Korth transitioned to the Orion Program in 2008 and has since served in a variety of leadership roles. In her current role, Korth assists the program manager in the design, development, testing, verification, and certification of Orion, NASA’s next-generation, human-rated spacecraft for Artemis missions. The spacecraft’s first flight test around the Moon during the Artemis I mission was a standout experience for Korth and a major accomplishment for the Orion team.
“It was a long mission and every day we were learning more and more about the spacecraft and pushing boundaries,” she said. “We really wrung out some of the core systems – systems that were developed individually and for the first time we got to see them work together.”
Korth said that understanding how different systems interact with each other is what she loves most about engineering. “In systems engineering, you really look at how changes to and the performance of one system affects everything else,” she said. “I like looking across the entire spacecraft and saying, if I have to strengthen this structure to take some additional landing loads, that’s going to add mass to the vehicle, which means I have to look at my parachutes and the thermal protection system to make sure they can handle that increased load.”
The Orion team is working to achieve two major milestones in 2025 – delivery of the Artemis II Orion spacecraft to the Exploration Ground Systems team that will fuel and integrate Orion with its launch abort system at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and the spacecraft’s integration with the Space Launch System rocket, which is currently being stacked. These milestones will support the launch of the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration, with liftoff targeted no earlier than April 2026.
“It’s going to be a big year,” said Korth.
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 Min Read What is an Engineer? (Grades K-4)
This article is for students grades K-4.
Engineers solve problems. They use science and math to create new things or make things work better. There are different kinds of engineers. They work on different kinds of projects. Some engineers design buildings or machines. Others find ways to move heat, power, or water from one place to another. Some create new tools.
NASA needs engineers. They design the things humans need to fly in space or on airplanes. Engineers make great ideas become real.
What do NASA engineers work on?
NASA has many missions. These missions need different kinds of engineers. Here are some of the ways engineers help NASA get the job done.
Spacecraft: These are vehicles that fly in space. NASA engineers decide how a spacecraft should be built and what it should do. They also make sure it will keep astronauts safe. Airplanes: NASA engineers work on airplanes. They design how the plane will look, how fast it will fly, and how much fuel it will use. Telescopes: Telescopes help us see space objects like stars and planets. Some telescopes are placed in orbit for the best view. NASA engineers design them to work in space. Computers: Computers can do complex tasks faster than people. NASA engineers write code that tells computers what to do. Anthony Vareha, NASA flight director Why is it fun to be a NASA engineer?
At NASA, engineers get to work on cool projects. They use science and creativity to find new ways to reach big goals. Here are some of the reasons they like their work.
“Being an engineer is like solving a huge puzzle or building something cool with building blocks. The difference is that the things we make help make the world better and improve people’s lives.” – Othmane Benefan, materials research engineer “I like being an engineer because I get to learn new things almost every day. Most of the engineering projects at NASA are super unique because we are building satellites that study new places all over the solar system (planets, asteroids, even the Sun), and it’s really fun to learn all the ways that we can use robots to explore.” – Phillip Hargrove, launch mission integration engineer “I love to build and create things. At NASA, there’s always something to do, and I get to work with people I enjoy.” – Jenna Sayler, aerospace engineer “I love being an engineer because I love trying to understand how things work. There’s a lot of stuff in our universe. Engineering is the tool I’ve chosen to help make sense of it all.” – Brian Kusnick, mechanical engineer Elaine Stewart, contamination control engineer What are some things I can do to help me become an engineer?
Be curious and excited to learn new things. Learn more about how different types of machines work. Practice making, building, or tinkering with things. Work hard in math and science classes. When you get to middle school or high school, try a NASA student challenge or apply to be a NASA intern. Students over age 16 can apply for NASA internships. Interns work on real projects. NASA team members help guide interns as they learn. Wendy Okolo, Ph.D., aerospace research engineer How can I try engineering today?
NASA has fun engineering activities that you can do at home. Here are a few to try:
Make and color a paper airplane. Let your imagination fly! Build a tower with pasta! How tall can you build it? Make a paper Mars helicopter. See which design works best! Build a new spacecraft using items in your house! A CubeSat is a small satellite. Try to build a CubeSat in this online game. When you do these projects, try them more than once. Make a small change each time. See if it makes your design work better. Engineering is all about testing ideas!
Learn More
JPL Education: Student Projects (Grades K-4) NASA Space Place Explore More for Students Grades K-4 View the full article
-
By NASA
Electrical engineer Scott Hesh works on a sub-payload canister at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague, Virginia. The cannister will be part of a science experiment and a demonstration of his Swarm Communications technology.Credits: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Berit Bland Scott Hesh, an electrical engineer at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, was announced Nov. 2 as the FY22 IRAD Innovator of the Year, an award presented by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“An electrical engineer with an insatiable curiosity, Scott Hesh and his team have worked hand-in-glove with science investigators since 2017,” said Goddard Chief Technologist Peter Hughes. “He developed a technology to sample Earth’s upper atmosphere in multiple dimensions with more accurate time and location data than previously possible with a sounding rocket.”
Related: NASA Sounding Rockets Launch Multiple Science Payloads
Newly proven technology developed at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague, Virginia, turns a single sounding rocket into a hive deploying a swarm of up to 16 instruments. The technology offers unprecedented accuracy for monitoring Earth’s atmosphere and solar weather over a wide area.
Engineers Josh Yacobucci (left) and Scott Hesh test fit a science sensor sub-payload into a Black Brant sounding rocket at Wallops.Credits: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Berit Bland The Internal Research and Development (IRAD) Innovator of the Year award is presented by Goddard’s Office of the Chief Technologist to individuals who demonstrate the best in innovation.
“Scott has this enthusiasm for what he does that I think is really contagious,” Sounding Rocket Program technologist Cathy Hesh said. “He’s an electrical engineer by education, but he has such a grasp on other disciplines as well, so he’s sort of like a systems engineer. If he wants to improve something, he just goes out and learns all sorts of things that would be beyond the scope of his discipline.”
Mechanical engineer Josh Yacobucci has worked with Scott Hesh for more than 15 years, and said he always learns something when they collaborate.
“Scott brings this great perspective,” Yacobucci said. “He could help winnow out things in my designs that I hadn’t thought of.”
“For his interdisciplinary leadership resulting in game-changing improvements for atmospheric and solar science capabilities,” Hughes said, “Scott Hesh deserves Goddard’s Innovator of the Year Award.”
By Karl B. Hille
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
View the full article
-
By NASA
“I’m always proud every time I see a new picture taken by Hubble,u0022 said Phathom Donald, a satellite systems engineer for the Hubble Space Telescope. u0022It feels like an accomplishment and an honor even to be part of a mission that brings those images to people on Earth.”u003cstrongu003eu003cemu003eCredits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Rob Andreoliu003c/emu003eu003c/strongu003e Name: Phathom Donald
Title: Mission Engineer
Formal Job Classification: Satellite Systems Engineer
Organization: Astrophysics Project Division, Hubble Space Telescope Operations Project, Code 441
What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission?
As a member of the flight operations team for the Hubble Space Telescope, I monitor and evaluate the performance of Hubble’s subsystems through its telemetry. I send commands to Hubble as needed for routine maintenance, maintaining communication with the spacecraft, and recovery from onboard anomalies. I also support ground system maintenance to ensure that operations run smoothly and uninterrupted.
On the flight software team, I build and run simulations to verify flight software changes before they’re installed onto Hubble. Just like how your laptop or your smartphone gets regular updates to add new features or to fix bugs, Hubble gets flight software updates for added capabilities and to address new issues.
Being a flight controller was a dream of mine, so being able to command a spacecraft has been really exciting. I also really enjoy coding, and it’s been interesting seeing how all these critical and complicated activities happen at the same time. I think the work I do outside of my flight controller role has helped me become a better flight controller, because I have a better idea of what’s happening behind the scenes — things feel a bit more intuitive to me.
How did you find your path to Goddard?
During undergrad, I was on a path to become a power systems engineer. But one day in my senior design class, our professor invited the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) project manager at the time to speak to our class about systems engineering and its applications to the mission. Within five minutes of this presentation, I was on the verge of tears. This presentation alone changed the course of my career because it reminded me that I love the stars and I love space. More importantly, it made me feel like a career at NASA was actually possible.
So, I emailed the speaker and asked him for advice, and he responded with excellent guidance and encouragement. I saved that email and essentially used it as a career guide. After graduating, I worked for a NASA contractor first as a quality engineer, then as a model-based systems engineer. While I was in that role, I pursued my master’s, and about a month after graduating, I saw the job posting for Hubble’s flight operations team at Goddard. After a year or so of settling in, I reached out to that same speaker and I let him know I took his advice, I made it to NASA, and that I couldn’t be more grateful for his help. He responded beautifully, saying that he was humbled to have played any role in me getting to where I wanted to be.
What first sparked your interest in space?
My dad used to take my brothers and me to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles all the time. I loved going to those shows in the planetarium and just feeling engrossed in what they were teaching. I’d always wanted to take an astronomy class, but I didn’t get the chance until my last year of undergrad. I’m so glad I did; it just reaffirmed that space is for me.
u0022In moments where Hubble’s mission is at risk, I’ll look at the situation and think, ‘Okay, what can we do to either fix or mitigate this problem?’u0022 said Phathom Donald, a satellite systems engineer for the Hubble Space Telescope. u0022I do what I can with care, I communicate clearly with those I’m working with, and I trust the abilities of my colleagues.”u003cstrongu003eu003cemu003eCredits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Rebecca Rothu003c/emu003eu003c/strongu003e What is your educational background?
I graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 2014 with a bachelor’s in electrical engineering. I also have a master’s in space systems engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. Right now, I’m pursuing a graduate certificate in control systems from the University of Michigan at Dearborn to prepare for a role supporting Hubble’s pointing and control subsystems. After I’m done, I plan to pursue a graduate certificate in aerospace for that same reason; I want to pick up and hone skills in order to maximize my contributions to Hubble.
How do you keep a cool head when you have a mission-critical situation?
I think I’m generally a pretty calm person, but in moments where Hubble’s mission is at risk, I tend to focus on what is in my power to get done. So I’ll look at the situation and think, “OK, what can we do to either fix or mitigate this problem?” And I do what I can with care, I communicate clearly with those I’m working with, and I trust the abilities of my colleagues. I work with really brilliant, dedicated people who love what they do, so I know that they’re going to do what’s best for the mission.
What is your proudest accomplishment at Goddard?
To be honest, I’m always proud every time I see a new picture taken by Hubble, especially after we’ve recovered it from an anomaly. It feels like an accomplishment and an honor even to be part of a mission that brings those images to people on Earth.
Who are your science role models, and how have they shaped your career in science?
Katherine Johnson: she was an African American mathematician who was pivotal in the success of the early human spaceflight missions carried out by NASA. Her complex trajectory calculations got the first man into space and back unharmed. I also admire Dr. Sian Proctor: she was the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft.
As a minority, it can be easy to feel like an outlier in the space industry. Seeing people like Katherine and Dr. Proctor succeed and excel in these fields adds a bit of comfort. They show me that these technically demanding roles are attainable.
How do you like to spend your time outside of work? What are your hobbies?
I spend a lot of time with my tiny dog, Chara. I named her after a yellow star in the Hunting Dogs constellation. Chara is Greek for “joy,” and to say she brings me joy would be an understatement.
I actually have a new obsession with snorkeling and freediving. I went snorkeling for the first time in early 2021 and it completely changed my life. Before snorkeling, I was terrified of water. After snorkeling, I wanted to be a fish. I just love the freedom that comes with the lack of equipment. I love the peace that I feel underwater.
What is your “six-word memoir”? A six-word memoir describes something in just six words.
“The stars are not too far.”
What is some advice you would give your 10-year-old self?
You are capable of more than you know, more than what people might try to make you believe. Do what makes you feel fulfilled and define your own success. Your passion is your strength.
By Hannah Richter
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.
Share
Details
Last Updated Feb 10, 2025 Related Terms
Goddard Space Flight Center Black History Month Hubble Space Telescope People of Goddard Latest News
More NASA News Article8 Min ReadJohn Moisan Studies the Ocean Through the ‘Eyes’ of AI
Article5 Min ReadMark SubbaRao Brings Data to Life Through Art
5 Min ReadNASA Scientists & Historian Named AAAS 2022 Fellows
Article 6 Min ReadPhathom Donald Brings Space Closer as a Hubble Mission Engineer
Article 5 Min ReadTrena Ferrell Inspires Through Science and Education
Article View the full article
-
By NASA
This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the dwarf galaxy NGC 4449. ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Adamo (Stockholm University) and the FEAST JWST team President Biden has named 19 researchers who contribute to NASA’s mission as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). These recipients are among nearly 400 federally funded researchers receiving the honor.
Established in 1996 by the National Science and Technology Council, the PECASE Award is the highest honor given by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers who are beginning their research careers. The award recognizes recipients’ potential to advance the frontiers of scientific knowledge and their commitment to community service, as demonstrated through professional leadership, education or community outreach.
“I am so impressed with these winners and what they have accomplished,” said Kate Calvin, chief scientist, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “They have made valuable contributions to NASA science and engineering, and I can’t wait to see what they do in the future.”
The following NASA recipients were nominated by the agency:
Natasha Batalha, NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California – for transformational scientific research in the development of open-source systems for the modeling of exoplanet atmospheres and observations Elizabeth Blaber, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York – for transformative spaceflight and ground-based space biology research James Burns, University of Virginia, Charlottesville – for innovative research at the intersection of metallurgy, solid mechanics and chemistry Egle Cekanaviciute, NASA Ames Research Center – for producing transformational research to enable long-duration human exploration on the Moon and Mars Nacer Chahat, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California – for leading the innovation of spacecraft antennas that enable NASA deep space and earth science missions Ellyn Enderlin, Boise State University, Idaho – for innovative methods to study glaciers using a wide variety of satellite datasets David Estrada, Boise State University, Idaho – for innovative research in the areas of printed electronics for in space manufacturing and sensors for harsh environments Burcu Gurkan, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio – for transforming contemporary approaches to energy storage and carbon capture to be safer and more economical, for applications in space and on Earth Elliott Hawkes, University of California, Santa Barbara – for highly creative innovations in bio-inspired robotics that advance science and support NASA’s mission John Hwang, University of California, San Diego – for innovative approach to air taxi design and key contributions to the urban air mobility industry James Tuttle Keane, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory – for innovative and groundbreaking planetary geophysics research, and renowned planetary science illustrations Kaitlin Kratter, University of Arizona, Tucson – for leadership in research about the formation and evolution of stellar and planetary systems beyond our own Lyndsey McMillon-Brown, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio – for leadership in photovoltaic research, development, and demonstrations Debbie Senesky, Stanford University, California – for research that has made it possible to operate sensing and electronic devices in high-temperature and radiation-rich environments Hélène Seroussi, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire – for leading the cryosphere science community in new research directions about the role of ocean circulation in the destabilization of major parts of Antarctica’s ice sheets Timothy Smith, NASA Glenn Research Center – for achievements in materials science research, specifically in high temperature alloy innovation Mitchell Spearrin, University of California, Los Angeles – for pioneering scientific and technological advancements in multiple areas critical to NASA’s current and future space missions including rocket propulsion, planetary entry, and sensor systems Michelle Thompson, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana – for research in planetary science and dedication to training the next generation of STEM leaders Mary Beth Wilhelm, NASA Ames Research Center – for achievements in science, technology, and community outreach through her work in the fields of space science and astrobiology The PECASE awards were created to highlight the importance of science and technology for America’s future. These early career awards foster innovative developments in science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and engineering, provide recognition to the scientific missions of participating agencies, and enhance connections between research and challenges facing the nation. For a complete list of award winners, visit:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2025/01/14/president-biden-honors-nearly-400-federally-funded-early-career-scientists
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.