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The curious incident of Swarm and sprites in the night-time
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By NASA
Name: Matthew Kowalewski
Title: Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS) Lead Instrument Systems Engineer
Formal Job Classification: Aerospace Engineer
Organization: Instrument and Payload Systems Engineering Branch (Code 592)
Matthew Kowalewski is the lead instrument systems engineer for NASA’s Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS). Photo courtesy of Matthew Kowalewski What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard?
As the DraMS lead instrument systems engineer for NASA’s Dragonfly mission, I lead the coordinated technical development, integrating systems and making sure communications across subsystems is maintained within the instruments as well as with the lander. I enjoy the diversity and complexity of this instrument.
What do you enjoy most about your current position as the DraMS lead instrument systems engineer?
I started this position in March 2023 and it has been like drinking from a fire hose ever since, but in a good way. The complexity of the instrument and the number of subsystems means this is really three separate instruments in one, and that makes my job exciting. I have to keep up with a range of disciplines across everything that Goddard does including mechanisms, lasers, mass spectrometers, gas flow systems, mechanical systems, thermal systems and electrical systems.
I am always challenged and excited by those challenges too. Everything we do is necessary to meet the broad science requirements. Our goal is studying prebiotic chemistry on the surface of Titan.
What is your educational background? Why did you become an aerospace engineer?
I have a B.A. in astronomy and physics from Boston University and a master’s in physics from Johns Hopkins University.
As a child, I was more interested in astronomy and physics. In college, I developed an extreme interest in experimental physics including the engineering required to perform these experiments.
How did you come to Goddard?
After college, I worked in missile defense for a private company supporting the Midcourse Space Experiment. After three years, in 1998, my wife and I wanted to move closer to family, so I came to Goddard as an instrument engineer supporting the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer-Earth Probe (TOMS/EP) mission. I have also supported the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on Aura, The Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS) on Suomi NPP and JPSS, various airborne field campaigns, and the New Opportunities Office.
What interesting field work did you do prior to joining DraMS?
I largely did field work supporting Earth science research and new business development. We flew remote sensing instruments on high altitude aircraft in the United States, Costa Rica, South Korea [whose official name is the Republic of Korea], and Canada. Most field campaigns lasted about a month where we were housed in hotels or military bases. While supporting the New Opportunities Office, we developed instrument and mission concepts, evaluated and prioritized technologies, and fostered relationships with industry, universities, and other government organizations.
How do you lead across multiple teams?
I lead a large team engineers and technicians spanning across over six teams. Communication is the key. I rely on the expertise of our systems team and all of the subsystem leads. We have daily and weekly meetings where everyone is heard and they are free to approach me whenever they have concerns.
I try to encourage open discussions including contrarian thoughts and ideas. I listen to all the options and opinions in an attempt to make the best-informed decision. Then I move forward with my decision.
In a cost- and schedule-constrained environment, like most missions are, we cannot get stuck in the decision-making process. At some point, a decision needs to be made and the team then moves forward.
Where have you traveled for work?
I have been to multiple NASA centers and military bases in this country. In addition to Costa Rica, South Korea and Canada, I have also been to the Netherlands and France for mission development.
What is the most memorable moment you have had at Goddard?
In 2003, I was supporting the space shuttle Columbia mission, STS-107. We had a small payload in the shuttle cargo bay called a Hitchhiker. I was second shift in the Hitchhiker mission operations center. I got to interact with the astronauts both prelaunch and on orbit. It meant a lot to me. My last shift was just prior to their reentry. It really impacted me when I learned, after my shift, that the shuttle disintegrated with all hands lost.
I had the honor of meeting these astronauts. It reminded me of the importance of the work that we do as we continue sending astronauts into orbit for missions.
When you mentor someone, what do you advise them to do?
I tell them to learn as much about everything that they can. For example, if they are an engineer, they should learn about science and other disciplines because a broad knowledge base will help them in the future. They will also learn why building a small piece of hardware is important for accomplishing the mission’s science goals. An electrical engineer building a circuit is actually building something for a far larger purpose.
It is also very important to get along with others. We work with others every day, in all aspects of our lives, and we have to understand their perspectives and respect their opinions. There is more to our jobs than building things. Establishing relationships with others is what truly allows us to accomplish our goals.
What do you do for fun?
I have four kids and enjoy spending time with them. I coach soccer, mentor a robotics club, and participate in endurance swim races. This is my second year as a mentor to my son’s robotics club, which participates in an annual, national robotics competition to build a robot from scratch. This year we have a highly mobile, fast robot with a multi-jointed arm to manipulate objects. I think we have a good shot at going to nationals.
Who would you like to thank?
I wish to thank my wife Angie for supporting me over all these years as my career developed. She was often home alone with four kids during long stints of travel. I would not be where I am without her.
I also owe much to my mentors, Scott Janz, Glenn Jaross, and Jay Al-Saadi for all their guidance, support and opportunities over the many years. Nobody can work alone, no matter how smart you are.
What is your “five-word or phrase memoir”? A five-word or phrase memoir describes something in just five words or phrases.
Understanding. Compassionate. Persistent. Hard-working. Curious about too many things.
By Elizabeth M. Jarrell
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.
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Last Updated Nov 12, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
People of Goddard Dragonfly Goddard Space Flight Center People of NASA View the full article
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By European Space Agency
Ever since aurora chasers discovered Steve, a mysterious ribbon of purple light in the night sky, scientists have wondered whether it might have a secret twin. Now, thanks to a photographer’s keen eye, and data from ESA’s Swarm satellites, we may have found it.
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By European Space Agency
The Sun erupted over the weekend, flinging electromagnetic radiation towards Earth, even illuminating skies with spectacular aurora borealis. For the first time, ESA’s unlikely space weather duo of SMOS and Swarm tracked the severe solar storm — which warped Earth’s magnetic field.
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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA released Tuesday the first episode of a new six-part podcast series for first-time space explorers to learn about the Sun. Ahead of the total solar eclipse in April, NASA’s Sun + Eclipse Series will focus on the sphere full of swirling magnetic fields and explosions of hot gases.
New episodes will post every Tuesday through April 23. The first episode is available at:
Sun Series: The Sun, Our Star – NASA
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. More than 32 million people will have the chance to witness, and a phenomenon the contiguous U.S. will not see again for 20 years.
The series will delve into the cultural connections and historical significance of solar studies. Listeners can prepare firsthand for the solar eclipse with insight from NASA experts along the path of totality. The series offers insight into research from NASA scientists, firsthand accounts from “eclipse chasers”, and how the agency protects astronauts and spacecraft during solar activity.
The series is part of NASA’s Curious Universe podcast. In each episode, hosts Padi Boyd and Jacob Pinter, bring listeners on science and space adventures. Explore the cosmos alongside astronauts, scientists, engineers, and other NASA experts in science, space exploration, and aeronautics.
NASA’s Sun + Eclipse Series is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Soundcloud. Curious Universe is written and produced by a team at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Discover more original NASA shows at:
https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts
-end-
Melissa Howell
Headquarters, Washington
202-961-6602
melissa.e.howell@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Podcasts Eclipses Goddard Space Flight Center NASA Headquarters View the full article
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By NASA
On Nov. 8, 2023, Max Holliday, middle, installs one of the four PY4 spacecraft into the dispenser supplied by Maverick Space Systems ahead of vibration testing. David Pignatelli, Maverick Space Systems, right, holds the dispenser steady as Watson Attai, left, documents the installation with a smart phone camera.Credits: NASA/Don Richey Preparations are underway for a new, small spacecraft technology demonstration that will test cost-efficient swarm capabilities – the ability for multiple spacecraft to communicate and perform coordinated actions. The PY4 mission’s four CubeSats are slated to launch Monday March 4, 2:05 p.m. PST to low Earth orbit aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-10 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Led by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and funded by NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program, PY4 seeks to demonstrate spacecraft-to-spacecraft ranging, in-orbit navigation, and coordinated simultaneous multi-point radiation measurements at low size, weight, power, and cost. It uses a unique avionics platform called PyCubed that integrates power, computing, communications, attitude determination, and orbit control functionalities into a single board system. The PyCubed system is also open-source, programmable entirely in the Python programming language and uses affordable commercial off-the-shelf components.
Four-CubeSat swarm of PyCubed-based spacecraft in the Small Spacecraft Technology lab. The goal of PY4 is to demonstrate spacecraft-to-spacecraft ranging, in-orbit relative navigation, and coordinated simultaneous multi-point radiation measurements.Credits: NASA/Don Richey Once in orbit at over 325 miles above Earth, the spacecraft will periodically measure their relative distances. These range measurements provide information about the spacecrafts’ positions relative to each other, and when combined with other sensor data, can be used to determine the configuration of the swarm. Advancing these capabilities could decrease the workload for operators on the ground while enabling multi-spacecraft missions at an accessible price point. The PY4 platform was previously used in demonstrations of the V-R3x technology, both in orbit and in a suborbital flight test on a commercial high-altitude balloon with NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. Those initial tests helped researchers evaluate PY4’s functionality ahead of this larger demonstration mission.
In addition to the PY4 demonstration, NASA is also testing critical swarming technologies via the agency’s ongoing Starling mission that launched in 2023. PY4 could dramatically reduce the cost of small spacecraft swarming capabilities and make demonstrating technologies like the autonomous navigation system tested via Starling more widely accessible by offering a flight-ready hardware and software platform.
In the top image, engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley insert the mission’s four spacecraft into their dispenser supplied by Maverick Space Systems of San Luis Obispo, California in preparation for vibration testing. Each of the one-and-a-half-unit (1.5U) CubeSats measure about 4 inches x 4 inches x 6.5 inches. The spacecraft were later transported to SpaceX for integration on the Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for launch.
On Nov. 8, 2023, Max Holliday, creator and maintainer of the PyCubed avionics platform, prepares one of the four PY4 spacecraft for installation into the dispenser supplied by Maverick Space Systems ahead of vibration testing.Credits: NASA/Don Richey PY4 is led by the Robotic Exploration Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University with funding from the Small Spacecraft Technology program at NASA’s Ames. The Small Spacecraft Technology program expands the ability to execute unique missions through rapid development and demonstration of capabilities for small spacecraft applicable to exploration, science and the commercial space sector. Engineers at NASA Ames supporting the Small Spacecraft Technology program aided the assembly, testing, and integration of the four PY4 spacecraft as well as their delivery to Maverick Space Systems – the PY4 mission’s launch integrator.
Author:
Chloe E. Tuck
For news media:
Members of the news media interested in covering this topic should reach out to the Ames newsroom. View the full article
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