T-56 Days Until Liftoff

Where does a cow stop to drink?

the Milky Way!

I didn't think I could possibly be any more excited about working as a co-op at the NASA Johnson Space Center a couple of months ago, but boy, was I wrong.

Astronaut Cow at Houston Intercontinental Airport

This past week my mom and I visited Houston, Texas to go apartment hunting and speak with the co-op coordinator about what I'll be doing when I officially arrive in Texas.  But instead of sitting in an office for an hour and vocally wondering what I should expect working on campus (that's what all NASA employees call JSC) the co-op coordinator connected me with some current co-op participants and they gave me the MOST INCREDIBLE TOUR EVER!!  Our main co-op "tour guide", K, showed us around all of the different facilities and was able to answer every single question and calm every worry I had.  Don't get me wrong, I was, am, and always will be, beyond ecstatic for this opportunity, but I've been slightly worried too.

This will be the first time I am really leaving home for an extended period of time.  Sure, I live four hours away from home when I'm at college but home is still a short drive away if I want.  But TEXAS!? That's 1,116 miles, 17 hours in a car, and $190 in gas OR a two hour, $$$$ expensive flight away.  And in Texas I won't only be separated from my family, but what about all my friends at school? In Texas I'm going to be friendless and alone and I've been kind of bugging out about that fact. But after talking to a few co-ops, that anxiety has been quelled. I'm still going to be alone and separated from my family and friends but the co-ops introduced me to a bunch of other co-ops who I may work with this Fall and I've connected with several people on Facebook. Albeit, I was only there for a few hours, everyone I met was incredibly nice and we all share a passion for space. So far, these are my kind of people!

Now, back to the tour. The first building we visited was home to the MISSION CONTROL ROOM for all of the Apollo Missions! I got to sit in the Flight Director's seat and the Booster Systems Engineer's seat.  (I actually got to sit in all of them but those two were just super cool!)  I also got to pick up the [retired] CAPCOM phone!

Then, K showed us the real-life Mission Control room currently being operated by a real-life mission control crew. Talk about mind-blowing, we got to watch as Mission Control guided Astronauts in a live EVA (spacewalk)! I almost died. It is not very common to see spacewalks going on during a tour so we were incredibly lucky. Even though, if you ask me or my mom just having the chance to tour the facility made us incredibly lucky. So we were just doubly incredibly lucky!

The Mission Control Crew is behind the glass window

Then we went to a couple of other buildings and just saw where other co-ops and full-time employees do their magic, which I have to say was pretty great.

[NOTE: I am 100% NASA-obsessed and I think that every blade of grass on that campus is incredible so be prepared to continue reading words such as "great" and "incredible" and "awesome."]

They've also got a collaboration center where employees can go to work on projects and hold team meetings and such which was pretty nifty. They had some technologies I've never even heard of before (big surprise there, seeing as it's NASA) that definitely help make meetings as productive as possible. One of the tools they have plugs into any smart phone and allows people to control a computer/TV screen and give a presentation using the phone as the control device. I may not have explained that properly but it was interesting.

After that tour, we had lunch and that's when I met other co-ops. There are co-ops there from schools all over the country studying everything from electrical engineering to computer engineering to biology to ergonomics. And like I said before, they all have a passion for space. So much so that they created a video spoof of "Gangnam Style" called "NASA Johnson Style". It is seriously one of the greatest videos I have ever seen, so if you have 3 minutes and 48 seconds to spare, I suggest you watch it.

At lunch we also met a co-op who was able to connect us with some employees in the Anthropometrics and Biomechanics Facility. Don't even get me started on the AWESOMENESS we witnessed.
Yes, the picture on the left is in fact myself - scanned by a giant NASA 3-D laser. The laser is used to scan Astronauts and Astronaut candidates in order to determine the measurements for their space suits. All you do is stand on a platform as a laser-beam scans you over, and then - Voila - you've got a 3-D image of yourself with dimensions. It was AMAZING! If only Dr. Blick could have been there to see everything! After the Anthropometrics and Biomechanics Facility tour we walked around campus a bit and K told my mom and me about the Robonaut aka the smartest robot on the planet.
As a co-op, K helped with some of the electrical engineering design of the brain circuit. I can't wait to see what I get to do once I start!
Back to Robonaut - he is currently on the ISS and is used to assist Astronauts with tedious tasks and fix things that may be too dangerous for Astronauts to attempt. After learning about Robonaut and being introduced to the work-in-progress Robonaut 2 we toured a few more buildings and then headed for the gift shop, because what's a trip to NASA without buying some Astronaut food, moon rocks, and NASA mugs?!?

I have been on numerous tours of the Kennedy Space Center and I didn't think I would ever see anything like it anywhere else, and in a way I was right, because the tour my mom and I received last week was absolutely, indescribably, incredible! I will be forever grateful to K for the tour and for answering all of my and my mom's questions. Not only am I less anxious about moving to Texas, but my mom is so much more comfortable with the idea of me doing this all on my own too!

After we left the campus, our apartment hunt started. We had expected it to last two and a half days or so but we found my perfect apartment in 1.5 hours and then had the entire night and next day to explore Houston. So we did the most TEXAS thing we could do (that was suggested to us) and went to the Kemah Boardwalk and Cavender's Western Wear Store. We didn't go on any rides or buy any boots but we sure had fun walking around, looking at all the sites, and trying on shoes! :) The only thing I would have changed about our mini-vacation would be the time. I had so much fun hanging out with my mom and I wish it could have lasted a little longer, but I'm glad I got to spend the time I did with her and we got to share some incredible memories together! I love you momma!

The entire trip the only thing I could think about was the amazing opportunity I have been provided with. Not everyone is this lucky and I am so blessed that God gave me my family. I am so incredibly grateful for them for doing and sacrificing so much just for me to able to pursue my dreams. I have no idea where I would be right now without my parents' support, but I am sure I would not be preparing to takeoff for the greatest journey of my life without them.

T-108 Days Until Liftoff

I've never done a blog before.  I've never really seen the point.  I don't have much interest in reading the thoughts that were going on in my head days, and weeks, and months ago so I don't really see why anyone else would. But I am about to embark on an absolutely incredible, once-in-a-lifetime, kind of journey and I want to document it somehow.  So here goes...

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Harvard of the Skies, has been my dream school since I was thirteen years old.  My science teacher, Mr. Astin, was teaching my class about space science and the Astronaut program and I could not stop imagining myself as an astronaut.  That night, my eighth grade self went home and spent hours and hours on the NASA website learning everything about what makes a good Astronaut candidate.

• I needed to earn some kind of engineering or math degree

-AND-

• I needed to have a few years of experience under my belt (or)
• I needed 1,000 flight hours (later on I realized you could choose one or the other)

-AND-

• I needed to have good eye-sight - CHECK

-AND-

• I needed to be tall  - CHECK

I had already fulfilled two out of the five requirements and I was only 13 so I was on the right track. The next day I asked my teacher about what college I should go to if I wanted to become an Astronaut and he told me about Embry-Riddle. So that night I went home and looked up Embry-Riddle and my mind was set. It had the BEST Aerospace Engineering program in the country, it had a top-notch flight program, AND it graduated SIX Astronauts – there was no way I would go to any other school in a million years. For the rest of that year, I would stay after school some days just so I could look at the universe with his Starry Night program and I worked my butt off for the rest of middle school and high school, made straight As, and applied to two universities: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Florida Institute of Technology. Even though I was confident I'd get in, I didn't want to risk NOT going anywhere with a good Aerospace Engineering program.

On November 17, 2009 I checked my Application Status on Ernie and saw that I was accepted at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  My dream was coming true.

A few months later, I was finally on my way to Embry-Riddle as an Aerospace Engineering major. My dream wasn't just coming true, I was living it. However, three semesters into the engineering program I finally accepted that engineering was not for me. I didn't know what I was going to do until I found the Human Factors and Systems Department. I talked to some of the faculty and learned what Human Factors was all about and I knew what I was going to do again.

Ever since I changed my major I have absolutely loved every single thing about school. The degree is applicable to so many fields, the classes are challenging and interesting, and the career possibilities are endless. With my degree I get to learn about the physiological and cognitive aspects of people, how to enhance designs, how to conduct research, and how to optimize space travel!  What could be better than that!?  Oh right, nothing!

And this Spring semester has done nothing but reaffirm that I made the right decision in changing my major. On February 15, 2013 I submitted my first-ever internship application. The program provided the opportunity to a select group of students from across the country to participate in the NASA Pathways Intern Employment Program at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. On March 28, I had my first-ever phone interview. And on April 19, 2013 I received the phone call of a lifetime.

I GOT THE INTERNSHIP I APPLIED FOR!

My dream for the past eight years has been to work for NASA. If I am going to be a NASA Astronaut, what could be a better way to gain work experience than working for the company I want to gain work experience to work for? Exactly.

That day is one of the absolute happiest days of my life and I cannot wait to see where this opportunity leads!  I am so thankful to my parents and my professors for guiding me in the right direction throughout my life and college career, and I will do everything I can to make them proud. All of my hard work is beginning to pay off and I am truly so blessed to have had these opportunities provided to me. And as long as I keep working my hardest and keep my faith in God I know that I will be able to accomplish anything I put my mind and heart into.

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31