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DAF celebrates Military Spouse Appreciation Day
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By NASA
NASA and the military have shared strong connections since the agency’s early days. From the nation’s earliest aeronautic research and the recruitment of test pilot astronauts to modern-day technology development, satellite management, and planetary defense, NASA has built a longstanding partnership with the military.
This legacy of collaboration has created natural opportunities for former service members to join NASA’s ranks at the conclusion of their military careers.
Lewis Swain is one of the many veterans working at Johnson Space Center in Houston today. Swain was recruited by NASA contractor McDonnell Douglas after leaving the military in 1980. He commissioned as a second lieutenant and served in the Air Force for 12 years, flying nearly 200 combat missions during two tours in Vietnam.
“The shuttle program was starting, and they needed ex-military pilots to serve as simulation instructors,” he said. Swain specialized in control and propulsion systems instruction for several years before becoming the training team lead for shuttle missions. Following the Challenger accident in 1986, Swain transitioned to supporting the International Space Station Program and Return to Flight evaluations. He has been a civil servant since 1989 and a training facility manager since 2006.
L. Jerry Swain during his Air Force career (left) and as a facility manager at Johnson Space Center in Houston (right).Images courtesy of L. Jerry Swain NASA’s Pathways Internship Program has also provided a point of entry for former service members. John Smith was studying mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso when he made an impactful Johnson connection. “I met with a former flight director, Ms. Ginger Kerrick, at a career fair hosted by my university,” he said. “Pathways happened to be accepting applications at the time and she enthusiastically encouraged me to apply. I never expected to get a response, much less an offer. I couldn’t say yes fast enough when it came!”
For others, the NASA SkillBridge Program has been instrumental in transitioning from the military to civilian careers. The program connects individuals in their final months of military service with a NASA office or organization. SkillBridge fellows work anywhere from 90 to 180 days, contributing their unique skillsets to the agency while building their network and knowledge. Since fellows’ pay and benefits are provided by their military branch, their support comes at no additional cost to NASA.
Johnson hosted the agency’s first-ever SkillBridge fellow in spring 2019, paving the way for many others to follow. Albert Meza, an Air Force space professional, was among this first wave of service members at NASA.
Approaching retirement from the Air Force in November 2019, Meza planned to move his family back to Houston that summer, then join them in the fall once his military service ended. A colleague encouraged him to apply for SkillBridge because it would let Meza move with his family. Meza was skeptical, noting the military is not typically flexible on moves or timelines, but after a quick meeting with his commanding officer and finding a Johnson team to work with, he was on his way to Houston. “It was unbelievable,” he said. “It kind of fell into my lap.”
Albert Meza visits Johnson Space Center’s Space Vehicle Mockup Facility while serving in the Air Force (left) and receives an award from NASA astronaut Rex J. Walheim during his retirement ceremony at Space Center Houston (right). Images courtesy of Albert Meza Today Meza is a payload integration manager for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program, working within the Exploration Architecture, Integration, and Science Directorate at Johnson. In this role, he acts as a liaison between payload teams and the vendor developing a lander to help ensure flight requirements are understood and met.
Meza is also one of SkillBridge’s on-site coordinators. He said that when he first arrived at Johnson, he realized the program was relatively unknown. “I thought, I need to take the responsibility for waving the flag for SkillBridge at NASA.” Meza works tirelessly to educate service members, military leaders, and NASA supervisors about the program’s benefits. He also emphasizes how easy it is for NASA supervisors to host a fellow. “You get someone for six months who is already disciplined, loyal, and has all of these highly trained credentials,” he said. “Any civil servant supervisor can host a SkillBridge fellow. The only real requirement is that the supervisor can provide IT assets and a work location.”
Johnson has hosted more than 25 SkillBridge fellows since the program’s inception. Many fellows have since accepted full-time positions with NASA, including Patricia “Trish” Elliston. Meza found her a SkillBridge position with the center’s Protective Services Division in spring 2023. Elliston relocated to Houston in 2020, a few years prior to her anticipated retirement from the U.S. Coast Guard. Living in Houston and interacting with numerous NASA employees, along with prior experience working with the agency in maritime safety, convinced Elliston that Johnson was the place for her.
Trish Elliston flies aboard an aircraft during a mission (left) and visits Johnson Space Center’s Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (right) while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. Images courtesy of Trish Elliston “During my internship I networked as much as possible and made every effort to learn as much as I could so that I could be better prepared to start my civilian career,” Elliston said. “I worked hard and learned a lot, and when a job opportunity became available, I applied.” She now works as a cyber intelligence analyst within the Flight Operations Directorate.
Meza notes that SkillBridge is a transition program, not a hiring program, and that some fellows have not received a job offer or have decided to pursue other opportunities. What happens after a SkillBridge fellowship depends on each individual and whether they’ve demonstrated their potential and built relationships in a way that turns this ‘foot in the door’ into a full-time position.
Interested in becoming a SkillBridge fellow at NASA? Learn more about the program and submit your application here.
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By Space Force
A prototype F-16 Fight Falcon cockpit collapsible ladder for agile combat employment and contingency operations emerged as the 2024 Spark Tank winner at the Pentagon.
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By Space Force
The changes are part of an ongoing effort to streamline and modernize Total Force enlisted development following the separation of DAFI 36-2670, Total Force Development, into more specialized instructions.
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By NASA
NASA has selected four new crew members to participate in the final simulated mission to Mars in 2024 inside the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog. From left are Kristen Magas, Anderson Wilder, Obaid Alsuwaidi, and Tiffany Snyder.Credit: C7M4 Crew NASA selected a crew of four research volunteers to participate in its last simulated mission to Mars in 2024 within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Obaid Alsuwaidi, Kristen Magas, Tiffany Snyder, and Anderson Wilder will step into the 650-square-foot HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) facility on Friday, Nov. 1. Once inside, the team will live and work like astronauts for 45 days. The crew will exit the facility on Monday, Dec. 16, after simulating their return to Earth. Jordan Hundley and Robert Wilson also were named as alternate crew members.
Scientists use HERA studies to examine how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions before NASA sends astronauts on deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The studies provide data about human health and performance in an enclosed environment over time with crews facing different challenges and tasks.
The four volunteers will carry out scientific research and operational tasks throughout their simulated mission, including raising shrimp, growing vegetables, and “walking” on the surface of Mars using virtual reality. They will also experience communication delays lasting up to five minutes as they “near” Mars, allowing researchers to see how crews may respond to the type of delays astronauts will encounter in deep space. Astronauts traveling to the Red Planet may encounter one-way communication delays lasting as long as 20 minutes.
As with the previous HERA missions, crew members will conduct 18 human health studies during the mission through NASA’s Human Research Program. Collectively, the work helps scientists understand how a spaceflight-like environment contributes to the physiological, behavioral, and psychological health of crew members. Insights gleaned from the studies will allow researchers to develop and test strategies aimed at helping astronauts overcome obstacles on deep space missions.
Primary Crew
Obaid Alsuwaidi
Obaid Alsuwaidi serves as captain engineer for the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Ministry of Defense. In this role, he provides guidance in civil and marine engineering and addresses challenges facing the organization. Previously, Alsuwaidi worked as a project manager for the defense ministry, helping to streamline productivity, establish high standards of professionalism, and build a team of experts to serve the UAE’s needs.
Alsuwaidi earned a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Western Sydney University in Australia, followed by a master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from George Washington University in Washington.
In his free time, Alsuwaidi enjoys horseback riding, swimming, and running.
Kristen Magas
Kristen Magas is an educator and engineer, currently teaching at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School in Franklin, Massachusetts. She also mentors students involved in a NASA design and prototyping program, helping them develop and fabricate products to improve life in space on both International Space Station and Artemis missions. Magas was a finalist for the 2025 Massachusetts State Teacher of the Year.
Magas received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She also holds a master’s degree in Vocational Education from Westfield State University in Massachusetts. She has worked as a community college professor as well as a design engineer in municipal water and wastewater treatment.
In her spare time, Magas enjoys coaching robotics and track and field, hiking, biking, and staying connected with her community. She has two children and resides in North Attleboro, Massachusetts with her husband of 25 years.
Tiffany Snyder
Tiffany Snyder is a supervisor for the Cybersecurity Mission Integration Office at NASA, helping to ensure agency missions are shielded against cybersecurity threats. She has more than 20 years of information technology and cybersecurity experience, working with the Air National Guard and as a special agent with the Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency. She joined NASA in 2018 as an IT specialist, and later served as the deputy chief information security officer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, providing cybersecurity oversight.
Snyder holds a bachelor’s degree in Earth Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a master’s degree in Digital Forensics from the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her dogs — Artemis and Apollo, gardening, running, and visiting the beach with her family.
Anderson Wilder
Anderson Wilder is a Florida Institute of Technology graduate student working on his doctorate in Psychology. His research focuses on team resiliency and human-machine interactions. He also works in the campus’s neuroscience lab, investigating how spaceflight contributes to neurobehavioral changes in astronauts.
Wilder previously served as an executive officer and engineer for an analog mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. There, he performed studies related to crew social dynamics, plant growth, and geology.
Wilder received his bachelor’s degrees in Linguistics and in Psychology from Ohio State University in Columbus. He also holds master’s degrees in Space Studies from International Space University in Strasbourg, France, and in Aviation Human Factors from the Florida Institute of Technology. He is completing another master’s degree in Cognitive Experimental Psychology at Cleveland State University in Ohio.
Outside of school, Wilder works as a parabolic flight coach, teaching people how to fly in reduced gravity environments. He also enjoys chess, reading, video games, skydiving, and scuba diving. On a recent dive, he explored a submerged section of the Great Wall of China.
Alternate Crew
Jordan Hundley
Jordan Hundley is a senior consultant at a professional services firm, offering federal agencies technical and programmatic support. Prior to his current position, he focused on U.S. Department of Defense clients, performing model-based system engineering and serving as a subject matter expert for related operations.
Hundley was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. While on active duty, he served as an intercontinental ballistic missile operations officer. He later joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Currently, he is a space operations officer with experience in space battle management and electromagnetic warfare.
Hundley earned a master’s degree in Engineering Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. He is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Systems Engineering at the university.
Hundley holds a private pilot license and is a certified rescue diver. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking and camping, researching theology, and learning musical instruments.
Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson is a senior researcher and project manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. He leads work enhancing human-machine collaborations, developing human prediction models, and integrating that technology into virtual reality and robotic systems designed to operate in isolated, constrained, and extreme environments. His human-machine teaming expertise also extends into responsible artificial intelligence development. He recently participated in a United Nations Roundtable discussion about artificial intelligence in security and defense.
Wilson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University in 2013 and 2015, respectively. He earned his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2020.
Outside of work, Wilson is an avid outdoors enthusiast. He enjoys scuba diving, winter camping, backcountry skiing, and hiking through the woods or mountains throughout the year. At home, he also likes to tinker in computer networking and self-hosted systems.
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NASA’s Human Research Program pursues the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, commercial missions, and the International Space Station, the program scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research continues to drive NASA’s mission to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission-ready as human space exploration expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
For more information about human research at NASA, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/hrp
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