Close-up detail of the surface of one of Josh Simpson’s glass “Planet” sculptures. Inspired in part by photographs taken by Astronaut Cady Coleman, his wife, he creates his fantasy planets in his studio in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. Photo Credit: Tommy Olof Elder
By John McManamen One of the many lessons I’ve learned during my career is we aren’t always as smart as we think we are. When we discovered large oscillations occurring during docking between the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS), I had a chance to learn that lesson again.
By Adam Harding A new engineer’s career with NASA usually begins by being tossed into the deep end. You are immediately handed real-world engineering challenges and face the overwhelming data, procedures, and calculations needed to solve them.
By Howard Ross Intentionally igniting a fire inside the Space Shuttle might seem like a bad idea, but done safely and correctly, it could answer all sorts of seemingly simple questions, such as, “Would a candle burn in zero gravity?”
By Nick Chrissotimos The three main areas that can lead a project down a slippery slope are team dynamics, technical development issues, or those things outside the project’s control—external support, problems, or direction.
By Matthew Kohut “Fast” is the word that best describes Tom Simon’s experience working at Marshall Space Flight Center on the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite (FASTSAT), a microsatellite designed to carry six small experiments into space.
By Taralyn Frasqueri-Molina Even a genius team can never anticipate every possible risk that might occur on a project. Before unexpected risks rear their ugly heads, create a mitigation plan for dealing with the risk of not knowing what could happen.
In February 2011, Academy of Program/Project and Engineering Leadership Director Ed Hoffman sat down with Rudi Schmidt, from the European Space Agency (ESA), and NASA’s Rob Manning at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as part of the Academy’s Masters with Masters series.
By ASK Editorial Staff In March 2011, some two dozen representatives from space agencies and related organizations around the world meet in the top-floor conference room of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Paris headquarters.
