One of the Crew

By James E. Johnson, JSC, TX

The likes of Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco de Gama, and Christopher Columbus all set out on voyages across largely uncharted and unexplored oceans. They were searching and exploring in the name of discovery and to serve their country. Their ships required crews of skilled deckhands and sailors to make the mission they sought to complete possible. While times have changed and today’s ships look a bit different, the underlying passion for exploration and service is still there. Astronauts are our explorers and the men and women of Mission Control are the deckhands and sailors that make the voyage possible.

Our ships of today sail through the void of space and require constant attention to detail as they are among the most complex crafts ever built by humankind. I am honored and privileged to be one of the ‘crew’, and although I may not be on the ship as it sails amid the stars; my desire to explore is taken along for the ride.

I am a flight controller in NASA’s Mission Control Center. Specifically, I am responsible for monitoring the Life Support and Thermal Control systems of the Space Shuttle as an Emergency, Environmental, and Consumables Manager (EECOM). I have always had a thirst for adventure and exploration from an early age and always looked skyward growing up in a very aviation-friendly family (my father is an airline pilot). My natural adventurous spirit drove me to learn about planes that travelled higher and faster, a drive that eventually had me focused on space. Pursuing mathematics and science and eventually a degree in Mechanical Engineering provided me with the keys to take my passion forward as a career.

When working in Mission Control I monitor the systems that keep the spacecraft pressurized, the atmosphere comfortable, and all the electronic equipment adequately cooled so it can function properly. Along with the other men and women of the control center, we have to be prepared for unexpected problems with our systems. If we were to develop a leak in the cabin, have to fight a fire, or isolate a leak in an external cooling loop, my duty is to keep the crew safe and try to preserve the mission’s goals.

You can imagine, when I’m not working in Mission Control during a mission, I am practicing during simulations – trying to test my knowledge and presence under pressure when failures of the spacecraft’s systems occur. All of us in the control center are also responsible for a lot of the preparations and planning that goes into a shuttle mission, making sure the crew and ourselves are fully prepared for both the expected and unexpected. We are writing procedures, studying our systems, and helping to train the crews that will take the spirit of discovery and exploration forward.

I’m honored to be a part of a spaceship crew, but am only a small cog in the giant wheel of collaboration that must turn to make our voyages possible. Men and women in engineering, manufacturing, public affairs, education, finances, and many other areas make the voyages possible. Are you willing to be crew for humankind’s next voyage into space?