Who am I?

I'm a crew training coordinator, which means I prepare training materials and conduct training sessions for the Mir and shuttle cosmonauts and astronauts. I work with U.S. and Russian scientists to make up the in-flight crew procedures and with NASA and Russian space research staff to fit our procedures into the larger mission timeline. Some of my work is paperwork done in California using a computer. Face-to-face work occurs with the training sessions at Johnson Space Center, where the crew members come two or three times during training for their mission. We also go to Russia to train at Star City, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, which is about an hour northeast of Moscow. There is a model of the Mir space station there as well as copies of all the hardware that we can use to practice the procedures.

We don't always use a translator, but because I studied Russian in college I can now understand a fair amount of what goes on in Russian during the sessions. We started out doing training sessions with the astronauts and cosmonauts together, but sometimes that took longer than it should, so now we often have separate training sessions.

My Career Journey

My career somewhat evolved. I started out in medical technology in a hospital and worked there for 15 years. Sometime along the way, I started working at Ames in research labs and worked on some studies that simulated space conditions to see how human physiology would be affected by them. The subjects were surrogate astronauts and we were studying what was happening to their bodies in conditions similar to being in space. We studied volunteers in environments like a bed-rest facility, in which they would be in bed for up to 30 days, and in a water immersion tank, in which they would stand up in water that reached their necks. I worked there for about eight years. When I came to my current position, I was used to helping design experiments and used to working with people.

I just kept doing things I liked. I liked the research more than the hospital, and I like my current job more than the research because it combines everything I know. All of my work has built upon itself. The work with the Russians was a bonus because I hadn't been using the Russian I had learned but had always wanted to.

Likes about Career

The best part of my job is the training sessions. We have such a good time getting to know the crew and the Russian scientists we work with during the trainings. At times, communication has been strained or difficult but as we get to know each other better, it becomes easier and more friendly. During training sessions you form friendships with the crew and the people at the training centers supporting the trainings. Because the work we do is very intense, when we can relax, we really do relax. With the Mir program, I haven't had as much time to be with the crew members as I have with shuttle and I miss that.

It's great working with the astronauts. That part is almost always great. It's the other people who can be difficult. I would say that the crew are very helpful and very understanding with their trainers. They're probably the best students a teacher could have. They are always motivated and interested, and very clear about what they need to know. They're very different from each other and you have to tailor procedures for the person who will be doing the experiment. For me, adapting to their individual learning and communication styles is part of the challenge.

People always ask me if they're egotistical, but I don't find that's true. They do usually know what they want, but it's because when they are up in space, they have to have things prepared correctly for them because they can't fix them or take the time to change them up there. So we almost always go along with their suggestions, since we know that what they want is reasonable, even if it seems like just an individual preference.

What I like about working with the people in my workplace is the teamwork that develops in our group. Toward the end of the planning for a mission, we're all working together and thinking almost like one person, which is an amazing experience. So, by the time of a launch, although everyone is exhausted, we still feel great.

Dislikes About Career

The most frustrating part of the job is the politics. This program is worse than any other that I have ever been in, but all of NASA is like that. There are just a lot of different people who want to be involved and think things should be their way, so everything can change overnight. Then we have to change our plans because someone wants things to go his way. That's frustrating. You might have to make a change in something you've worked on for a long time, or find some way around it that doesn't feel completely comfortable.

The actual work is usually rigidly controlled in the sense that there is a lot of paperwork and documentation involved. In my work, though, I've been able to escape a lot of that. That's partly because the Mir program is moving so fast that other officials do not have time to catch up to it. So, we don't have to jump through a lot of the hoops that others must normally jump through. Although we are supposed to, no one has time to make us do it. That's a major reason I like the program.

My Plans and Goals

I would like to have twice as much time to prepare for the Mir projects and have them go on longer. If the International Space Station does not continue to develop the work done on Mir/Shuttle, it would be a shame.

Advice

My technical background has been the basis for my ability to do this work; it's the groundwork. But beyond that, in my work, I took every opportunity that sounded interesting and I never cared much about money or status. Eventually, if you just follow your interests, you'll get both of them. But if you go only for money and status you'll probably end up doing something you don't want to do.

I mainly think that people should try to follow what they want to do at all times. You have to work hard, but the most important thing is to do what you want to do.

Going to college, lab work and learning Russian helped me prepare for this position. I did some editing, too. I worked on a magazine and the writing and editing really helps me now. The medical classes, editing, instruction and work experiences all helped me prepare for this.