Meet Tracy Minish

Chief of the
System Engineering and Shuttle/Station Reconfiguration Branch

What I do at NASA:
Howdy from Johnson Space Center (JSC). My name is Tracy Minish and I am the Chief of the System Engineering and Shuttle/Station Reconfiguration Branch. In simple terms our branch provides the command and telemetry data used to operate the Mission Control Center (MCC) at NASA-JSC. Before this job I worked 14 years as a Space Shuttle Payload instructor training Astronauts and Flight Controllers on how to operate and deploy payloads. Some of the payloads included the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) and Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). I have had the opportunity to do a lot of “cool” stuff while at
NASA: ride on the vomit comet (KC-135 zero-g trainer), international travel for an Italian satellite, operate the robotic arm simulators, fly the Shuttle Motion Base simulator, work with Astronauts and see 3 Shuttle launches.

I consider myself very fortunate to be working at Johnson Space Center (JSC) and to be part of the NASA team. I have always loved math and my career at NASA has allowed me to use these skills. The NASA team is actually writing history as we build the International Space Station, explore our solar system with small-unmanned spacecraft, and prepare for a manned mission to MARS.

Working at NASA is similar to being on a winning sports team. We develop goals,
engineer a strategy (game plan) to achieve our goals, assemble the materials and people required to execute the plan, practice (simulations) and then go out and execute (Super Bowl). Every successful Shuttle launch is like winning a game! We may not pour ice water over each other’s heads, but you do get that exuberance of achievement and thrill of victory. Every mission presents a new challenge and provides unique rewards. By going after a career in engineering, physics, math or computer science you are building the skills NASA is looking for to meet your
generation’s future challenges.

Personal:
My hobbies include running (2 marathons this year), music (play badly at guitar, banjo and harmonica) and most important raising 3 boys (Tyler - 14, Carson - 12 & Chase 11). I graduated from the University of Georgia, where I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science (Go Dogs!). My wife and I met at Georgia and have been married for 23 years. I’ve worked as a volunteer during Engineering Week, JSC Open House and Bring Your Kid to Work. I’m currently teaching middle school bible study at my church. I look forward to meeting you.