The Job

Well hello everyone. My name is Henry Horne. I know most of you that are reading this prolly already knew that, but this is for the few that may not know who I am. Why I am doing this can be read right above ^^^^ in that turquoisish box. And if you want to know what I like to do or what I'm interested in, you can head over to my profile over here ------->. So those two things really save me some space on here.

Alright, here's a little about where I work. NASA Johnson Space Center is where all astrounaut training is done for the manned space program. They have full size mock-ups of both the space shuttle and the Internation Space Station(ISS). They also have the Neutral Bouyancy Lab, where we try to simulate a weightlessness. Several buildings here are also home to super badass computers that simulate every aspect of a real-time mission in space. All these buildings and areas are devoted to one purpose: making sure that the people that America sends into space are well prepared for their missions. Considering that we are planning to return to safe space flight in the time frame of may-july, things are REALLY exciting around here. Johnson is also the home of Mission Control Center(MCC), where the real "brain" of the manned space program is. Here all communicaiton with the crews of the SS and ISS are conducted as well as other operatoins: real time adjustments of the flight plan, problem solving, and countless types of support. Basically, ANYTHING that goes down on the ISS or SS during flight is done through the MCC at NASA Johnson.

Okay, so you know I am at NASA Johnson, but you prolly want to know what exactly I do as a co-op. Well as of my first week(I started on the 10th), I did ALOT of reading. See, I am working for the NASA Missions Operations Directorate(MOD). MOD plans, directs, manages, and implements all the mission objectives for the SS and ISS. Operations is divided into 10 divisions. My division is the Systems Division. Systems contains the majority of the Mission Control Center disciplines, and its primary purpose is the planning and execution of in-flight shuttle and station support operations. Systems is divided into 6 branches. My branch is Data Systems. Within Data Systems I am a part of CDH(Command and Data Handling). CDH's console in the FCR(Flight Control Room) of the MCC for the ISS is ODIN(Onboard Data and Interface Networks). In the flight control room, the ODIN is the expert of the command and data handling systems; ODIN serves as the leader of the CDH team and is the point of contact(POC) for all problems and questions relating to the CDH system.

I'm doing alot of reading because, contingent on my decision to return to ODIN next term, I will be formally trained to receive my first level of certification as and ODIN. Well, kinda. My first certification will be as a RAVEN(Research Avionics Engineer), which is the MPSR(Multi Purpose Support Room) mirror of ODIN. You never see the RAVEN in the movies and in the control room, cuz they are in the back room, or the MPSR. Every console position has a mirrored position in the backroom, and that mirror is constantly hard at work providing the FCR position with pertinent data.

Now, I haven't decided yet if I want to return to ODIN next term. Now don't get me wrong, the people of ODIN are the absolute BEST. However, as an ODIN, I am not really able to fully exploit my knowledge and teachings as an aerospace engineer. I am very interested in the Guidance and Propulsion branch of Systems. There I believe I can learn more about the area of aerospace engineering that I am most excited about: orbital mechanics and astrodynamics. Basically, that's the aeronautics of space. VERY cool stuff.

Well, this has been ALOT of writing. I will update soon and tell ya about my apartment, my cool roomie, and my family. Latre.