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By NASA
Flight operations engineer Carissa Arillo helped ensure one of the instruments on NASA’s PACE mission made it successfully through its prelaunch testing. She and her group also documented the work rigorously, to ensure the flight team had a comprehensive manual to keep this Earth-observing satellite in good health for the duration of its mission.
Carissa M. Arillo is a flight operations engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Photo courtesy of Carissa Arillo Name: Carissa M. Arillo
Formal Job Classification: Flight Operations Engineer
Organization: Environmental Test Engineering and Integration Branch (Code 549)
What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard?
I developed pre-launch test procedures for the HARP-2 instrument for the Phytoplankton, Aerosol, Cloud and Ecosystem (PACE) Mission. HARP-2 is a wide angle imaging polarimeter designed to measure aerosol particles and clouds, as well as properties of land and water surfaces.
I also developed the flight operations routine and contingency procedures that governed the spacecraft after launch. It is interesting to think about how to design procedures that can sustain the observatory in space for the life of the mission so that the flight operations team that inherits the mission will have a seamless transition.
What is your educational background?
In 2019, I got a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. I am currently pursuing a master’s in robotics there as well.
Why did you become an engineer?
I like putting things together and understanding how they work. After starting my job at NASA Goddard, I became interested in coding and robotics.
How did you come to Goddard?
After getting my undergraduate degree, I worked at General Electric Aviation doing operations management for manufacturing aircraft engines. When I heard about an opening at Goddard, I applied and got my current position.
What was involved in developing pre-launch test procedures for the HARP-2 instrument?
I talked to the instrument manufacturer, which is a team from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and asked them what they wanted to confirm works every time we tested the instrument. We kept in constant communication while developing these test procedures to make sure we covered everything. The end product was code that was part of the comprehensive performance tests, the baseline tests throughout the prelaunch test campaign. Before, during, and after each prelaunch environmental test, we perform such a campaign. These prelaunch environmental tests include vibration, thermal (hot and cold), acoustic and radio frequency compatibility (making sure that different subsystems do not interfere with each other’s).
What goes through your head in developing a flight operations procedure for an instrument?
I think about a safe way of operating the instrument to accomplish the goals of the science team. I also think about not being able to constantly monitor the instrument. Every few hours, we can communicate with the instrument for about five to 10 minutes. We can, however, recover all the telemetry for the off-line time.
When we discover an anomaly, we look at all the history that we have and consult with our contingency procedures, our failure review board and potentially the instrument manufacturer. Together we try to figure out a recovery.
When developing a fight operations procedure, we must think of all possible scenarios. Our end product is a written book of procedures that lives with the mission and is updated as needed.
New cars come with an owner’s manual. We create the same sort of manual for the new instrument.
As a Flight Operations Team member, what else do you do?
The flight operations team runs the Mission Operations Center — the “MOC” — for PACE. That is where we command the spacecraft for the life of the mission. My specialty is the HARP-2 instrument, but I still do many supporting functions for the MOC. For example, I helped develop procedures to automate ground station contacts to PACE. These ground stations are positioned all over the world and enable us to talk with the spacecraft during those five to 10 minutes of communication. This automation includes the standard things we do every time we talk to the spacecraft whether or not someone is in the MOC.
Carissa developed pre-launch test procedures for the HARP-2 instrument for the Phytoplankton, Aerosol, Cloud and Ecosystem (PACE) Mission. HARP-2 is a wide angle imaging polarimeter designed to measure aerosol particles and clouds, as well as properties of land and water surfaces.NASA/Dennis Henry How does it feel to be working on such an amazing mission so early in your career?
It is awesome, I feel very lucky to be in my position. Everything is new to me. At times it is difficult to understand where the ship is going. I rely on my experienced team members to guide me and my robotics curriculum in school to equip me with skills.
I have learned a lot from both the flight operations team and the integration and test team. The flight operations team has years of experience building MOCs that serve the needs of each unique mission. The integration and test team also has a lot of experience developing observatory functional procedures. I wish to thank both teams for taking me under their wings and educating me on the fly to support the prelaunch, launch and post-launch campaigns. I am very grateful to everyone for giving me this unbelievable opportunity.
Who is your engineering hero?
I don’t have one hero in particular but I love biographical movies that tell stories about influential people’s lives, such as the movie “Hidden Figures” that details the great endeavors and accomplishments of three female African-American mathematicians at NASA.
What do you do for fun?
I love to go to the beach and spend time with family and friends.
Who is your favorite author?
I like Kristen Hannah’s storytelling abilities.
What do you hope to be doing in five years?
I hope to be working on another exciting mission at Goddard that will bring us never-before-seen science.
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 Oct 29, 2024 EditorMadison OlsonContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Goddard Space Flight Center PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) People of Goddard People of NASA View the full article
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:39:06 Watch the replay of the media briefing in which ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher updates journalists on the key decisions taken at the ESA Council meeting, held in Paris on 23 and 24 October 2024.
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Hundreds of students, scientists, and other stakeholders listen in person and online as NASA leaders discuss the Artemis missions during the 2023 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium held Oct. 25–27 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. NASA / Charles Beason Media are invited to attend the 2024 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium Monday Oct. 28 to Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Organized by the American Astronautical Society in collaboration with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, the annual symposium gathers leaders from across government, industry, policy, and academia to discuss the current landscape of space exploration and chart a path forward amid the challenges that lie ahead.
The theme of this year’s event is “Expanding Exploration: From Vision to Reality,” focusing on NASA’s and Marshall’s plans for the future and the broader discourse about exploration and discovery, technology, the workforce, and other elements of the space ecosystem.
Media members interested should register with the astronautical society as a media representative under these guidelines for in-person or online attendance.
Marshall Center Director Joseph Pelfrey will deliver opening remarks on Oct. 28, followed by panels on Artemis, artificial intelligence, and workforce development. NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails will deliver a keynote address to close out the first day.
Panels on, Oct. 29, will focus on space nuclear propulsion, science, and lunar logistics and mobility. Col. Eric Zarybnisky, Office of Space Launch director at the National Reconnaissance Office, will provide the luncheon keynote.
The third and final day of the symposium Oct. 30, will include discussions on nuclear propulsion, space technology, and human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free and Wayne Hale, who retired in 2010 as the deputy associate administrator of strategic partnerships at NASA Headquarters in Washington, will lead a discussion and present awards at the closing luncheon.
To arrange interviews with NASA Marshall speakers, contact Hannah Maginot, 256-932-1937, or Molly Porter, 256-424-5158.
For more information on NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/marshall
Hannah Maginot
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
hannah.l.maginot@nasa.gov
256-932-1937
Molly Porter
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
molly.a.porter@nasa.gov
256-424-5158
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Last Updated Oct 23, 2024 EditorBeth RidgewayContactMolly Portermolly.a.porter@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
Marshall Space Flight Center Explore More
19 min read The Marshall Star for October 23, 2024
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By NASA
A test image of Earth taken by NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-4’s onboard camera. The camera will capture images of the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna upon deployment.NASA NASA recently evaluated initial flight data and imagery from Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-4 (PTD-4), confirming proper checkout of the spacecraft’s systems including its on-board electronics as well as the payload’s support systems such as the small onboard camera. Shown above is a test image of Earth taken by the payload camera, shortly after PTD-4 reached orbit. This camera will continue photographing the technology demonstration during the mission.
Payload operations are now underway for the primary objective of the PTD-4 mission – the demonstration of a new power and communications technology for future spacecraft. The payload, a deployable solar array with an integrated antenna called the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna, or LISA-T, has initiated deployment of its central boom structure. The boom supports four solar power and communication arrays, also called petals. Releasing the central boom pushes the still-stowed petals nearly three feet (one meter) away from the spacecraft bus. The mission team currently is working through an initial challenge to get LISA-T’s central boom to fully extend before unfolding the petals and beginning its power generation and communication operations.
Small spacecraft on deep space missions require more electrical power than what is currently offered by existing technology. The four-petal solar array of LISA-T is a thin-film solar array that offers lower mass, lower stowed volume, and three times more power per mass and volume allocation than current solar arrays. The in-orbit technology demonstration includes deployment, operation, and environmental survivability of the thin-film solar array.
“The LISA-T experiment is an opportunity for NASA and the small spacecraft community to advance the packaging, deployment, and operation of thin-film, fully flexible solar and antenna arrays in space. The thin-film arrays will vastly improve power generation and communication capabilities throughout many different mission applications,” said Dr. John Carr, deputy center chief technologist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “These capabilities are critical for achieving higher value science alongside the exploration of deep space with small spacecraft.”
The Pathfinder Technology Demonstration series of missions leverages a commercial platform which serves to test innovative technologies to increase the capability of small spacecraft. Deploying LISA-T’s thin solar array in the harsh environment of space presents inherent challenges such as deploying large highly flexible non-metallic structures with high area to mass ratios. Performing experiments such as LISA-T on a smaller, lower-cost spacecraft allows NASA the opportunity to take manageable risk with high probability of great return. The LISA-T experiment aims to enable future deep space missions with the ability to acquire and communicate data through improved power generation and communication capabilities on the same integrated array.
The PTD-4 small spacecraft is hosting the in-orbit technology demonstration called LISA-T. The PTD-4 spacecraft deployed into low Earth orbit from SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rocket which launched from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Aug. 16. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama designed and built the LISA-T technology as well as LISA-T’s supporting avionics system. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program, based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and led by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, funds and manages the PTD-4 mission as well as the overall Pathfinder Technology Demonstration mission series. Terran Orbital Corporation of Irvine, California, developed and built the PTD-4 spacecraft bus, named Triumph.
Learn more about NASA’s LISA-T technology:
NASA teams are testing a key technology demonstration known as LISA-T, short for the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna. It’s a super compact, stowable, thin-film solar array that when fully deployed in space, offers both a power generation and communication capability for small spacecraft. LISA-T’s orbital flight test is part of the Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator series of missions. To travel farther into deep space, small spacecraft require more electrical power than what is currently available through existing technology. LISA-T aims to answer that demand and would offer small spacecraft access to power without compromising mass or volume. Watch this video to learn more about the spacecraft, its deployment, and the possibilities from John Carr, deputy center chief technologist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. View the full article
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By NASA
NASA logo Chile will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 3 p.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 25, at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will host Aisén Etcheverry, Chile’s minister of science, technology, knowledge and innovation, and Juan Gabriel Valdés, ambassador of Chile to the United States, along with other officials from Chile and the U.S. Department of State.
This event is in-person only. U.S. media and U.S. citizens representing international media organizations interested in attending must RSVP no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, to hq-media@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.
The signing ceremony will take place at the agency’s Glennan Assembly Room inside NASA Headquarters located at 300 E St. SW Washington.
NASA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State and seven other initial signatory nations, established the Artemis Accords in 2020. With many countries and private companies conducting missions and operations around the Moon, the Artemis Accords provide a common set of principles to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space.
The Artemis Accords reinforce the commitment by signatory nations to the Outer Space Treaty, the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior for civil space exploration and use.
Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords
-end-
Meira Bernstein / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 21, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Office of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR) artemis accords View the full article
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