Project HOPE: The Story Begins
In November 2006, then–NASA Chief Engineer Chris Scolese brought together an advisory group of aerospace veterans to think about creative ways of giving young NASA employees the skills they will need to lead future projects and programs. Gus Guastaferro, an invited guest of this Management Operations Working Group, suggested developing a hands-on project that would give young engineers and scientists the opportunity to take a small mission from concept to launch to post-flight analysis.
Just over two years later, NASA centers received an invitation to submit proposals for the first Hands-On Project Experience (HOPE) training opportunity. Five centers responded with project ideas. The winning plan, to improve terrain-relative navigation by collecting ground imagery during a sounding-rocket flight, came from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In the spring of 2009, a group of young JPLers led by project manager Don Heyer got to work on what they called the Terrain-Relative Navigation and Employee Development (TRaiNED) project.
This is the beginning of their yearlong project adventure. Stay tuned for more episodes.
Read more about Project HOPE:
APPEL Website – http://appel.nasa.gov/hands-on/hope/
ASK Magazine Part I – http://go.nasa.gov/1mJGs07
ASK Magazine Part II – http://go.nasa.gov/1mJGvsI
Related Resources
-
Houston, we had a problem…and we learned from it!Space is hard. Inevitably, problems may occur. We can all learn valuable lessons from past events to ensure the safety and success of current and future programs. Enjoy reading and learning from a selection of such events. This booklet produced by the Johnson Space Center Knowledge Management Office contains numerous lesson learned from NASA missions and projects.
-
Apollo 1-Challenger-ColumbiaEvery year as we get back in the saddle, our Remembrance Day signals us to think back to the tragic events of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia as well as the context surrounding them. We’re accountable for learning from not just what went wrong, but how we recovered. As an example, read these rules recorded by Wayne Hale, former NASA Flight Director and Space Shuttle Program Manager. By actually applying such lessons from the past to your current work, our actions can honor our lost crews beyond silent reflection.
-
Shuttle Software AnomalyCase Study–A few minutes after the Shuttle Endeavour reached orbit for STS-126 on Nov. 14, 2008, mission control noticed that the shuttle did not automatically transfer two communications processes from launch to orbit configuration. Primary communications continued to use S-band frequencies after they should have transferred to the more powerful Ku-band. The link between the shuttle and its payload — the Payload Signal Processor (PSP)–remained configured for a radio link rather than switching.
