Megan Harvey is a utilization flight lead and capsule communicator, or capcom, within the Analysis Integration Workplace at NASA’s Johnson Area Heart in Houston. She integrates science payload constraints associated to automobiles’ launch and touchdown schedules. She can also be working to coordinate logistics for the return of SpaceX automobiles to West Coast touchdown websites.
Learn on to find out about Harvey’s profession with NASA and extra!
Megan Harvey
Utilization Flight Lead and Capsule Communicator
The place are you from?
I’m from Lengthy Valley, New Jersey.
How would you describe your job to household or associates who will not be aware of NASA?
Many organic experiments performed on the house station have particular time constraints, together with preparation on the bottom and when crew interacts with them on orbit. I assist coordinate and talk these sorts of constraints throughout the Worldwide Area Station Program and with the scientific neighborhood. That is particularly necessary as a result of launch dates seldom keep the place they’re initially deliberate! I’m additionally at present working in a cross-program workforce coordinating the logistics for the return to West Coast landings of SpaceX automobiles.
As a capcom, I’m the place within the Mission Management Heart in Houston that talks to the crew. That will be me responding to somebody saying, “Houston, we have now an issue!”
I’ve labored within the Analysis Integration Workplace because the starting of 2024 and have actually loved the change of tempo after 11 years within the Flight Operations Directorate, the place I supported a number of totally different consoles for the Worldwide Area Station. I’ve stored my capcom certification since 2021, and it’s an absolute dream come true each time I get to sit down within the Worldwide Area Station Flight Management Room. Johnson Area Heart is house to the most effective groups, each on and off the planet!
How lengthy have you ever been working for NASA?
I’ve been working for the company for 13 years.
What recommendation would you give to younger people aspiring to work within the house business or at NASA?
Some issues that I’ve discovered that helped me excel are:
1. Observe: I’m shocked over and over how merely practising issues makes you higher at them, nevertheless it works!
2. Preparation: Don’t wing issues!
3. Curiosity: Maintain questioning!
4. Enthusiasm!
What was your path to NASA?
I had a really circuitous path to NASA. Since going to Area Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, once I was 10 years outdated, I wished to be a capcom and work for NASA. I additionally traveled to Russia in highschool and beloved it. I assumed engaged on coordination between the Russian and U.S. house packages can be superior. In pursuit of these desires, I earned a bachelor’s diploma in physics with a minor in Russian language from Kenyon School in Gambier, Ohio, however I had a lot enjoyable additionally taking part in music extracurriculars that my grades weren’t fairly as much as the requirements of working at NASA. After commencement, I labored at a expertise camp for a summer season after which acquired a analysis assistant place in a neuroscience lab at Princeton College in New Jersey.
After a yr or so, I spotted that impartial analysis was not for me. I then labored in retail for a yr earlier than transferring to California to be an teacher at Astrocamp, a year-round outside schooling camp. I taught a lot of science lessons, together with astronomy, and had the chance to see the Perseverance Mars rover being put collectively at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. It dawned on me that I ought to begin trying into aerospace-related graduate packages. After three years at Embry-Riddle in Daytona Seashore, Florida, I acquired a grasp’s diploma in engineering physics and a job provide for a flight management place, initially working for a subcontractor of United Area Alliance. I began in mission management as an angle willpower and management officer in 2012 and stored that certification till the top of 2023. Alongside the best way, I used to be a Movement Management Group teacher; a Russian methods specialist and operations lead for the Houston Assist Group working commonly in Moscow; a Distant Interface Officer (RIO); and supported capcom and the Automobile Integrator workforce in a multipurpose help room for integration and methods engineers. I’ve to pinch myself once I take into consideration how I in some way made my childhood desires come true.
Is there somebody within the house, aerospace, or science business that has motivated or impressed you to work for the house program? Or somebody you found whereas working for NASA who evokes you?
After I switched workplaces to Houston Assist Group/RIO, most of my coaching was led by Sergey Sverdlin. He was an actual character. Regardless of his gruffness, he and I bought alongside very well. We have been very totally different folks, however we actually revered one another. I used to be all the time impressed with him and sought out his approval.
What’s your favourite NASA reminiscence?
Probably the most impactful expertise I’ve had at NASA was working along with the Increment 68 leads through the days and months following the Soyuz coolant leak. I used to be increment lead RIO and simply occurred to be within the Increment Administration Heart the day of a deliberate Russian spacewalk. The increment lead RIO isn’t sometimes primarily based within the Increment Administration Heart, however that day, issues weren’t going properly. All of our Russian colleagues had misplaced entry to a crucial community, and I used to be troubleshooting with the Increment Supervisor and the Worldwide Area Station Mission Administration Group chair.
I used to be explaining to Worldwide Area Station Deputy Program Supervisor Dina Contella the plan for getting our colleagues entry earlier than their off-hours spacewalk after we noticed a snowstorm of flakes popping out of the Soyuz on the downlink video on her workplace’s wall. These flakes have been the coolant. It was unbelievable watching Dina change from winding down for the day to creating telephone name after telephone name saying, “I’m calling you in.” The Increment Administration Heart stuffed up and I didn’t depart till near midnight that day. The remainder of December was a flurry (no pun meant) of intense and significant work with the sharpest and most caring folks I do know.
What do you like sharing about station? What’s necessary to get throughout to common audiences to assist them perceive the advantages to life on Earth?
There’s a lot to speak about! I like giving perception into the complexities of not solely the house station methods themselves, but additionally the worldwide collaboration of all of the groups working to maintain the methods and the science operating.
In the event you might have dinner with any astronaut, previous or current, who would it not be?
I might have dinner with Mae Jemison or Sally Trip. It’s too arduous to select!
Do you could have a favourite space-related reminiscence or second that stands out to you?
I used to be chosen by my administration a number of years in the past to go to a Navy plane provider with the SpaceX Crew-1 crew and a few of the Crew-1 workforce leads. We did a entice touchdown on the deck and have been launched off to go house, each through a C-2 Greyhound plane. It was thoughts blowing! I’m additionally very fortunate that I noticed the final house shuttle launch from Florida once I was in graduate college.
What are a few of the key tasks you’ve labored on throughout your time at NASA? What have been your favourite?
My first increment lead position was RIO for Increment 59 and there was a significant effort to replace all our merchandise in case of needing to decrew the house station. It was eye-opening to work with the whole increment workforce on this effort. I actually loved all of the work and studying and attending to know my fellow increment leads higher, together with Flight Director Royce Renfrew.
Additionally, in 2021 I used to be assigned because the Integration Techniques Engineer (ISE) lead for the Nanorack Airlock. I had by no means labored on a challenge with so many stakeholders earlier than. I labored near 100 revisions of the preliminary activation and checkout flowchart, coordinating with the whole flight management workforce. It was very cool to see the airlock extracted from NASA’s SpaceX Dragon trunk and put in, nevertheless it paled compared to the shift after we did the primary airlock trash deploy. I supported as lead ISE, lead RIO, and capcom all from the capcom console, sitting subsequent to the lead Flight Director TJ Creamer. I gave a countdown to the robotics operations methods officer commanding the deploy on the S/G loop in order that the crew and flight management workforce might hear, “3, 2, 1, Interact!”
I’ll always remember the satisfaction of working by way of all of the problems with that stellar workforce and attending to a profitable end result whereas additionally having a lot enjoyable.
What are your hobbies/stuff you get pleasure from outdoors of labor?
I like biking, mountaineering, cooking, board video games, and singing.
Day launch or night time launch?
Evening launch!
Favourite house film?
Area Camp. It’s so foolish. And it was the primary DVD I ever purchased!
NASA “worm” or “meatball” emblem?
Worm
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