Who I Am and What I Do

My name is Andrew Petro. I am a spacecraft designer at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In my job as a spacecraft designer, we plan future projects and design spacecraft for returning to the moon and going on to Mars. We also work on improvements to space shuttles and designs for launchers to eventually replace the shuttles in the future. Designing spacecraft means that we do a lot of "brainstorming" to come up with new ideas. We do calculations to figure out the size and weight of our designs. Then we make drawings and models of the spacecraft designs, which is my favorite part. We have to create the designs and study them to see if they will fly before anything is ever built. Every spacecraft that actually flies has many years of work behind it.

My project now is to work with the Russian engineers on a project to improve the design of the Soyuz spacecraft. The Soyuz is the spacecraft that carries Russian cosmonauts to their Mir space station. We are going to use the Soyuz along with space shuttles to carry people to the new International Space Station beginning in a year or so.

Learning About the Russian Space Program

While working on future spacecraft designs I also studied everything that I could find about the Russian space program. When the United States and other countries began to work together with the Russians on the space station, I got involved.

My Career Journey

When I graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering, I applied for jobs with all of the NASA centers across the country, and many of the aerospace companies. I took a job with the McDonnell Douglas company in Houston to work on space shuttle mission operations. I worked as an instructor for shuttle astronauts and the operators in Mission Control. We conducted mission rehearsals in the shuttle flight simulator and presented the astronauts with make-believe problems to solve so that they would be ready for anything during a real mission. It was exciting and fun to work in shuttle operations, but eventually I wanted a change, and I applied to work directly for NASA in spacecraft design.

Influences

I grew up at a time when the space program was getting a lot of attention, and seeing the television coverage of the Apollo missions to the moon had a big influence on me. I wanted to be a space engineer for almost as long as I can remember. When the space missions were being covered on TV, I would look closely at any pictures of Houston because even then I expected to live here when I grew up. And I was right!

Preparation for Career

I always loved to read, and I read just about every book that our public library had on the subject of space flight. I did well in school in subjects like history and science, but math was always difficult for me. I knew that math was going to be important if I wanted to be an engineer, and I got discouraged when I had trouble in my first algebra class in eighth grade. But I was very determined, and I was lucky to have a dedicated teacher who came in to help me every morning before school. I went from a grade of D to an A in algebra. There were similar challenges as I went through advanced math classes in high school and college, but I made it.

I decided very early that I wanted to be involved in space flight. In high school I took all the science and math courses that I needed to be accepted into a college engineering program. I was accepted at the University of Notre Dame which is in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame is famous for its football team but it is also attracts a lot of good students, and I had to work very hard in all of my classes.

Personal Information

I live near the space center, and I enjoy outdoor activities like bike riding, tennis and hiking. One of the things that I enjoy most is traveling to new places. I always liked history and geography, and now I am getting the chance to actually see many of the places that I read about when I was growing up. Since I moved to Texas, I have been able to go hiking in many of the great national parks in the West. I also find it exciting to travel to foreign countries. I have been to Russia, China and a lot of the countries of Europe, including places like Poland and Iceland. A few years ago I had the opportunity to spend the summer in France studying space engineering with people from all over the world.

I grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I liked school, and I was active in sports at our local YMCA. When I got to high school I became a competitive swimmer and continued on the swimming team through my college years at Notre Dame. I have two older brothers and four nieces and a nephew who live in Pennsylvania. I am single now, but I hope to have a family of my own some day.

Likes About Career

I really enjoy working with the Russians. I have learned about Russian history and a little of the language, and I have traveled to their country a few times.

My Future Plans and Goals

In the future I hope to see some of the designs that I have worked on actually become real spacecraft. And, I hope to add the moon to the list of unusual places that I have visited.

Archived Chats

• August 12, 1998