Meet: Diane McMahon

Who I am and what I do
Since December 1998, I have been a Space Station Payload Integration Manager. My job is to get payloads stowed on the shuttle and then transferred and integrated onto the ISS (International Space Station) to do science experiment/research work. A document, Payload Integration Agreement (PIA), is developed early on which sets forth the requirements and agenda for each payload. This document describes the payload's purpose (the nature of the experiment), hardware requirements, and many other necessary details. I am the book manager for the PIA document, which means I am responsible for producing the document and making it available to the ISS community. Later, closer to flight, an addendum is produced. This document really gets into the minute details of what's to be done, how, and when. The information in the PIA and its addendum is used to plan for flight -- timelines, ground support at KSC, Marshall ops (operations) support, and other activities. Marshall is the center for operational responsibility for ISS payloads.

My work includes support of Preliminary, Critical Design, Safety, and other payload reviews and assisting the payload through all the program milestones from beginning to end. I'm not directly involved with crew training anymore, and I'll miss that. At the end of the whole process, my group is responsible for preparing a Certification of Flight Readiness, which means the payload is "ready to stand up and state that it's ready to fly." During the mission, we do some early console support until the payload is transferred to Station. Once it successfully begins its operations, my work is finished with that particular payload.

Currently, my assigned payloads include two protein crystal growth experiments, the Window Observation Research Facility, the Biological Research Project, and a group of payloads we are trying to get on-orbit early in the space station assembly sequence. I stay busy--and each day can bring new challenges!

A wonderful aspect of my job is the travel and the interactions with outstanding people. I've met John Glenn and shook his hand. It was such an honor because he is a legend in our space program. I work in the building that houses the astronaut offices, and I've seen Shannon Lucid a few times. You may remember that she holds the American record for the longest stay in space from her mission to the Russian Mir space station. The next time I see her, I'm going to shake her hand, too!

I have flown in a KC-135 airplane, also known as the "vomit comet". During what is called "parabolic dives", the people briefly experience weightlessness (zero gravity) and float around inside the airplane. It was great fun, and I loved it! If you enjoy amusement park rides such as roller coasters, you are well on your way to being able to handle weightlessness! I think this can be good training for a future astronaut.

I like outdoor activities -- hiking, camping, animals, trees, all of it. Living in upstate New York really fostered my love for the outdoors. I also enjoy bicycling, doing crafts, playing bridge, reading, and staying fit. I am a vegetarian.

Growing Up
I was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up as an Air Force brat. My father used to be a teacher before he became a career Air Force officer. I lived in many different areas of our country. As a young teenager, I spent three years in England with my family. Although it was a wonderful and educational experience, it really made me identify myself as an American and established and clarified my love for the United States.

As a kid, I loved to read, and still do. I also loved to ride horses, swim, and collect things. In elementary school, I wanted to be a nurse, especially after reading all those "Cherry Ames" books! In fifth grade, I had an exceptionally good teacher, Mrs. Kaylor, at the Patrick Henry Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia. My high school years were difficult; we moved a lot, and I attended three different high schools. Add that to the fact that I was in that self-conscious stage.

My Career Journey
I married young and had five children. I worked in several administrative jobs so that my husband could get a college degree. By the time he graduated, we had two of our children. In February 1969, my husband went to work for Lockheed to support the Apollo program, and we moved to Houston. This marriage ended in divorce and I have re-married.

Once my kids got older, I started college. Eventually, I earned my associate degree in natural and applied sciences at College of the Mainland in Texas City, Texas. Following that, I attended the University of Houston-Clear Lake, where I earned my bachelors and masters degrees in biological sciences. I love biological sciences -- it's a fascinating and vast field. I decided on NASA's life science activities as a career during my senior year in college. I had to write a practice letter of application for a technical writing class I was taking. This exercise really made me focus on a career path. I owe that technical writing instructor a great debt of gratitude for helping me clarify my goals.

In the early 1980s, I worked part-time for the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic at JSC. My supervisor, an exercise physiologist at the clinic, helped to open my eyes to the world of fitness, exercise physiology, and nutrition. It was this experience that led me in my 1989 tech writing class to target life science support as my career. However, I did not get a position supporting NASA activities right away.

While I was completing my masters degree, I worked at the University of Texas-Medical Branch in Galveston, doing biochemical analyses for almost two years. These analyses were performed in the Clinical Nutrition Lab. I enjoyed the work, but I realized I wanted more social interaction than a laboratory setting could provide.

In the meantime, after 30 years in the aerospace business, my husband was also ready for a change. We quit our jobs in 1992 to take a year off to through-hike the 2,100-mile-long Appalachian Trail. We didn't do the whole thing, but we did hike about 600 miles of it. We lived on the Trail from early April to the end of July, 1992, with just a few short visits into civilization to see family. This was truly a wonderful experience. We used the rest of the year to drive around the country, camping and visiting family and friends. When we got home, it was hard to move back into our house after being so free. We began our search for jobs. I worked for the Galveston Bay Foundation and then got hired by Lockheed Martin to provide life science support to NASA. I have been here for almost three years. My husband teaches mathematics part-time at College of the Mainland.

Before becoming a payload integration manager, I worked as an experiment support scientist, providing life science support to NASA. I have a strong background in life sciences. My job was to serve as a science liaison between the principal investigators/scientists (P.I.s) and NASA. The P.I.s are located all over the world. Experiment Support Scientists make sure all requirements are met so that a successful science mission will be flown. I have supported two specialized missions: STS-78, the Life and Microgravity Sciences mission in June of 1996, and STS-90, the Neurolab mission in April of 1998.

On the Neurolab mission, I worked closely with the co-investigator for the French ball catch experiment. One of my responsibilities was to train the astronaut crew on how to perform the experiment. During the mission, my group provided 24-hour support from the Science Center (which used to be the old Mission Control Center). We were there to answer questions the crew or mission support personnel might have about performing the experiments in-flight. I also supported a series of pre- and post-flight crew baseline data collection (BDC) sessions for the P.I.s to use in their studies and analyses. Pre-flight BDC took place at Johnson Space Center in Houston (JSC). Post-flight, the landing-day BDC occurred at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Additional post-flight BDC sessions took place at JSC.

I have also supported the Phase I program, which was a series of seven joint American and Russian missions to the Russian space station Mir. I was involved with pre-flight training for the NASA 4 and 5 astronauts and was fortunate to travel to Star City, Russia. I also supported pre- and post-flight BDC sessions for these missions. For six of the seven missions, I traveled to one of the landing sites (the primary landing site at Kennedy Space Center or the back-up landing site at Dryden Flight Research Center in California). My job was to pick up selected data products and samples of blood, urine, and/or saliva collected in-flight on the Mir. They were brought back to JSC to distribute to the P.I.s for study and analysis.

My family
My kids are all grown. My dad died almost four years ago, and I still miss him a lot. My mom lives in a retirement community in New Jersey. I have lots of family, primarily in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., and I get back east to visit as much as I can. My husband and I live in Dickinson, Texas, where there are lots of pine trees. I still consider Virginia home, although I have learned that it's best to bloom where you're planted! We have a wonderful adopted dog, Katie, who was homeless. We also have a talking double yellow Amazon parrot, named Como.

Goals and Thoughts
Someday I would like to finish hiking the Appalachian Trail and attempt the Pacific Crest Trail, which is over 3,000 miles long! In the meantime, I will continue working with, contributing to, and enjoying the space program. I think the International Space Station and all it entails is fantastically interesting.

My advice to young people:
1) Think globally and act locally. (I read this somewhere and thought it was so meaningful!) You CAN make a difference!
2) Take advantage of every opportunity to get an education, preferably early in life. Our country will continue to need well-trained technicians and professionals in all career fields. Education is very important if you want to have a choice about how you earn a living.
3) Space is indeed our future - many of the seeds for tomorrow's technological accomplishments are being sown in today's space program activities.

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