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Dr. Natasha Schatzman Receives Vertical Flight Society (VFS) Award
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA/Jacob Shaw Capturing the high-stakes work behind NASA’s Airborne Science Program takes more than just technical skill – it takes vision. At NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, videographer Jacob Shaw brings that vision to life, documenting missions with a style and storytelling approach all his own.
“Armstrong is full of cutting-edge flight research and remarkable people,” Shaw said. “Being able to shape how those stories are told, in my own style, is incredibly rewarding.”
Armstrong is full of cutting-edge flight research and remarkable people. Being able to shape how those stories are told, in my own style, is incredibly rewarding.
jacob Shaw
NASA Videographer
Shaw recently earned first place in NASA’s 2024 Videographer of the Year Awards, documentation category, for his film, “Reflections,” which chronicles the 2024 Airborne Science mission PACE-PAX – short for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment. The campaign used NASA Armstrong’s ER-2 high-altitude aircraft to collect atmospheric and ocean data in support of the PACE satellite, launched in February 2024.
“These missions are live, high-stakes operations – even if the crew makes it look effortless,” Shaw said. “I’m fascinated not just with capturing these moments, but with shaping them into meaningful stories through editing.”
NASA videographer Jacob Shaw shares a moment with his constant companion during a lunch break in the cafeteria at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on May 21, 2025. Shaw recently earned first place in NASA’s 2024 Videographer of the Year Awards – documentation category – for his film, “Reflections,” which chronicles the 2024 Airborne Science mission PACE-PAX – short for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment.NASA/Genaro Vavuris Shaw’s passion for video began early, inspired by watching his father film family memories with a VHS camcorder in the early 1990s. He said seeing those moments captured made him realize the power of documenting reality and inspired him to pursue videography as a professional and personal passion.
“What I love most about creating videos for NASA at Armstrong Flight Research Center is the creative freedom I’m given to craft stories,” Shaw said. “I’m trusted to take a concept and run with it.”
Since joining the video team in 2021, Shaw has documented dozens of missions, helping to share the center’s groundbreaking work with the world.
“We’re a small crew that wears many hats, always stepping up to get the job done,” Shaw said. “I am thankful for their encouragement to submit my work [for this award], and proud to bring home the gold for Armstrong!”
NASA videographer Jacob Shaw captures footage of the ER-2 aircraft inside a hangar at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in December 2024. Shaw recently earned first place in NASA’s 2024 Videographer of the Year Awards – documentation category – for his film, “Reflections,” which chronicles the 2024 Airborne Science mission PACE-PAX – short for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment.NASA/Genaro Vavuris NASA videographer Jacob Shaw and the video team from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, prepare to film the launch of NASA’s SPHEREx mission at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission, short for Specto-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer, launched on March 11, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, continuing NASA’s exploration of the cosmos – and its commitment to visual storytelling.NASA/Jim Ross Share
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Last Updated May 23, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactDede Diniusdarin.l.dinius@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
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By NASA
Megan Harvey is a utilization flight lead and capsule communicator, or capcom, in the Research Integration Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. She integrates science payload constraints related to vehicles’ launch and landing schedules. She is also working to coordinate logistics for the return of SpaceX vehicles to West Coast landing sites.
Read on to learn about Harvey’s career with NASA and more!
Megan Harvey talking to a flight director from the Remote Interface Officer console in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA/Mark Sowa Johnson Space Center is home to the best teams, both on and off the planet!
Megan Harvey
Utilization Flight Lead and Capsule Communicator
Where are you from?
I am from Long Valley, New Jersey.
How would you describe your job to family or friends who may not be familiar with NASA?
Many biological experiments conducted on the space station have specific time constraints, including preparation on the ground and when crew interacts with them on orbit. I help coordinate and communicate those kinds of constraints within the International Space Station Program and with the scientific community. This is especially important because launch dates seldom stay where they are originally planned! I am also currently working in a cross-program team coordinating the logistics for the return to West Coast landings of SpaceX vehicles.
As a capcom, I’m the position in the Mission Control Center in Houston that talks to the crew. That would be me responding to someone saying, “Houston, we have a problem!”
I’ve worked in the Research Integration Office since the beginning of 2024 and have really enjoyed the change of pace after 11 years in the Flight Operations Directorate, where I supported several different consoles for the International Space Station. I’ve kept my capcom certification since 2021, and it is an absolute dream come true every time I get to sit in the International Space Station Flight Control Room. Johnson Space Center is home to the best teams, both on and off the planet!
How long have you been working for NASA?
I have been working for the agency for 13 years.
What advice would you give to young individuals aspiring to work in the space industry or at NASA?
Some things that I have found that helped me excel are:
1. Practice: I am surprised over and over again how simply practicing things makes you better at them, but it works!
2. Preparation: Don’t wing things!
3. Curiosity: Keep questioning!
4. Enthusiasm!
Megan Harvey and friends after biking 25 miles to work. What was your path to NASA?
I had a very circuitous path to NASA. Since going to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, when I was 10 years old, I wanted to be a capcom and work for NASA. I also traveled to Russia in high school and loved it. I thought working on coordination between the Russian and U.S. space programs would be awesome. In pursuit of those dreams, I earned a bachelor’s degree in physics with a minor in Russian language from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, but I had so much fun also participating in music extracurriculars that my grades were not quite up to the standards of working at NASA. After graduation, I worked at a technology camp for a summer and then received a research assistant position in a neuroscience lab at Princeton University in New Jersey.
After a year or so, I realized that independent research was not for me. I then worked in retail for a year before moving to California to be an instructor at Astrocamp, a year-round outdoor education camp. I taught a number of science classes, including astronomy, and had the opportunity to see the Perseverance Mars rover being put together at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. It dawned on me that I should start looking into aerospace-related graduate programs. After three years at Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach, Florida, I received a master’s degree in engineering physics and a job offer for a flight control position, initially working for a subcontractor of United Space Alliance. I started in mission control as an attitude determination and control officer in 2012 and kept that certification until the end of 2023. Along the way, I was a Motion Control Group instructor; a Russian systems specialist and operations lead for the Houston Support Group working regularly in Moscow; a Remote Interface Officer (RIO); and supported capcom and the Vehicle Integrator team in a multipurpose support room for integration and systems engineers. I have to pinch myself when I think about how I somehow made my childhood dreams come true.
Is there someone in the space, aerospace, or science industry that has motivated or inspired you to work for the space program? Or someone you discovered while working for NASA who inspires you?
After I switched offices to Houston Support Group/RIO, most of my training was led by Sergey Sverdlin. He was a real character. Despite his gruffness, he and I got along really well. We were very different people, but we truly respected each other. I was always impressed with him and sought out his approval.
Megan Harvey in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. What is your favorite NASA memory?
The most impactful experience I’ve had at NASA was working together with the Increment 68 leads during the days and months following the Soyuz coolant leak. I was increment lead RIO and just happened to be in the Increment Management Center the day of a planned Russian spacewalk. The increment lead RIO is not typically based in the Increment Management Center, but that day, things were not going well. All of our Russian colleagues had lost access to a critical network, and I was troubleshooting with the Increment Manager and the International Space Station Mission Management Team chair.
I was explaining to International Space Station Deputy Program Manager Dina Contella the plan for getting our colleagues access before their off-hours spacewalk when we saw a snowstorm of flakes coming out of the Soyuz on the downlink video on her office’s wall. Those flakes were the coolant. It was incredible watching Dina switch from winding down for the day to making phone call after phone call saying, “I am calling you in.” The Increment Management Center filled up and I didn’t leave until close to midnight that day. The rest of December was a flurry (no pun intended) of intense and meaningful work with the sharpest and most caring people I know.
What do you love sharing about station? What’s important to get across to general audiences to help them understand the benefits to life on Earth?
There is so much to talk about! I love giving insight into the complexities of not only the space station systems themselves, but also the international collaboration of all the teams working to keep the systems and the science running.
If you could have dinner with any astronaut, past or present, who would it be?
I would have dinner with Mae Jemison or Sally Ride. It’s too hard to pick!
Do you have a favorite space-related memory or moment that stands out to you?
I was selected by my management a few years ago to visit a Navy aircraft carrier with the SpaceX Crew-1 crew and some of the Crew-1 team leads. We did a trap landing on the deck and were launched off to go home, both via a C-2 Greyhound aircraft. It was mind blowing! I am also very lucky that I saw the last space shuttle launch from Florida when I was in graduate school.
Megan Harvey and NASA colleagues on the Nimitz aircraft carrier. What are some of the key projects you’ve worked on during your time at NASA? What have been your favorite?
My first increment lead role was RIO for Increment 59 and there was a major effort to update all our products in case of needing to decrew the space station. It was eye-opening to work with the entire increment team in this effort. I really enjoyed all the work and learning and getting to know my fellow increment leads better, including Flight Director Royce Renfrew.
Also, in 2021 I was assigned as the Integration Systems Engineer (ISE) lead for the Nanorack Airlock. I had never worked on a project with so many stakeholders before. I worked close to 100 revisions of the initial activation and checkout flowchart, coordinating with the entire flight control team. It was very cool to see the airlock extracted from NASA’s SpaceX Dragon trunk and installed, but it paled in comparison to the shift when we did the first airlock trash deploy. I supported as lead ISE, lead RIO, and capcom all from the capcom console, sitting next to the lead Flight Director TJ Creamer. I gave a countdown to the robotics operations systems officer commanding the deploy on the S/G loop so that the crew and flight control team could hear, “3, 2, 1, Engage!”
I’ll never forget the satisfaction of working through all the complications with that stellar team and getting to a successful result while also having so much fun.
Megan Harvey at a bouldering gym. What are your hobbies/things you enjoy outside of work?
I love biking, rock climbing, cooking, board games, and singing.
Day launch or night launch?
Night launch!
Favorite space movie?
Space Camp. It’s so silly. And it was the first DVD I ever bought!
NASA “worm” or “meatball” logo?
Worm
Every day, we’re conducting exciting research aboard our orbiting laboratory that will help us explore further into space and bring benefits back to people on Earth. You can keep up with the latest news, videos, and pictures about space station science on the Station Research & Technology news page. It’s a curated hub of space station research digital media from Johnson and other centers and space agencies.
Sign up for our weekly email newsletter to get the updates delivered directly to you.
Follow updates on social media at @ISS_Research on Twitter, and on the space station accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
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By Space Force
Secretary of Defense Peter B. Hegseth announced the 2025 recipients of the Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence May 16.
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is seen during its “aluminum bird” systems testing at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The test verified how the aircraft’s hardware and software work together, responding to pilot inputs and handling injected system failures. Lockheed Martin / Garry Tice NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft successfully completed a critical series of tests in which the airplane was put through its paces for cruising high above the California desert – all without ever leaving the ground.
“The idea behind these tests is to command the airplane’s subsystems and flight computer to function as if it is flying,” said Yohan Lin, the X-59’s lead avionics engineer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
The goal of ground-based simulation testing was to make sure the hardware and software that will allow the X-59 to fly safely are properly working together and able to handle any unexpected problems.
Any new aircraft is a combination of systems, and identifying the little adjustments required to optimize performance is an important step in a disciplined approach toward flight.
“We thought we might find a few things during the tests that would prompt us to go back and tweak them to work better, especially with some of the software, and that’s what we wound up experiencing. So, these tests were very helpful,” Lin said.
Completing the tests marks another milestone off the checklist of things to do before the X-59 makes its first flight this year, continuing NASA’s Quesst mission to help enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.
Simulating the Sky
During the testing, engineers from NASA and contractor Lockheed Martin turned on most of the X-59’s systems, leaving the engine off. For example, if the pilot moved the control stick a certain way, the flight computer moved the aircraft’s rudder or other control surfaces, just as it would in flight.
At the same time, the airplane was electronically connected to a ground computer that sends simulated signals – which the X-59 interpreted as real – such as changes in altitude, speed, temperature, or the health of various systems.
Sitting in the cockpit, the pilot “flew” the aircraft to see how the airplane would respond.
“These were simple maneuvers, nothing too crazy,” Lin said. “We would then inject failures into the airplane to see how it would respond. Would the system compensate for the failure? Was the pilot able to recover?”
Unlike in typical astronaut training simulations, where flight crews do not know what scenarios they might encounter, the X-59 pilots mostly knew what the aircraft would experience during every test and even helped plan them to better focus on the aircraft systems’ response.
NASA test pilot James Less sits in the cockpit of the X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft as he participates in a series of “aluminum bird” systems tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California.Lockheed Martin / Garry Tice Aluminum vs. Iron
In aircraft development, this work is known as “iron bird” testing, named for a simple metal frame on which representations of the aircraft’s subsystems are installed, connected, and checked out.
Building such a testbed is a common practice for development programs in which many aircraft will be manufactured. But since the X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane, officials decided it was better and less expensive to use the aircraft itself.
As a result, engineers dubbed this series of exercises “aluminum bird” testing, since that’s the metal the X-59 is mostly made of.
So, instead of testing an “iron bird” with copies of an aircraft’s systems on a non-descript frame, the “aluminum bird” used the actual aircraft and its systems, which in turn meant the test results gave everyone higher confidence in the design,
“It’s a perfect example of the old tried and true adage in aviation that says ‘Test what you fly. Fly what you test,’” Lin said.
Still Ahead for the X-59
With aluminum bird testing in the rearview mirror, the next milestone on the X-59’s path to first flight is take the airplane out on the taxiways at the airport adjacent to Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, where the X-59 was built. First flight would follow those taxi tests.
Already in the X-59’s logbook since the fully assembled and painted airplane made its public debut in January 2024:
A Flight Readiness Review in which a board of independent experts from across NASA completed a study of the X-59 project team’s approach to safety for the public and staff during ground and flight testing. A trio of important structural tests and critical inspections that included “shaking” the airplane to make sure there were no unexpected problems from the vibrations. Firing up the GE Aerospace jet engine for the first time after installation into the X-59, including a series of tests of the engine running with full afterburner. Checking the wiring that ties together the X-59’s flight computer, electronic systems, and other hardware to be sure there were no concerns about electromagnetic interference. Testing the aircraft’s ability to maintain a certain speed while flying, essentially a check of the X-59’s version of cruise control. The X-59 Tests in 59
Watch this video about the X-59 aluminum bird testing. It only takes a minute. Well, 59 seconds to be precise. About the Author
Jim Banke
Managing Editor/Senior WriterJim Banke is a veteran aviation and aerospace communicator with more than 40 years of experience as a writer, producer, consultant, and project manager based at Cape Canaveral, Florida. He is part of NASA Aeronautics' Strategic Communications Team and is Managing Editor for the Aeronautics topic on the NASA website.
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Last Updated May 15, 2025 EditorJim BankeContactMatt Kamletmatthew.r.kamlet@nasa.gov Related Terms
Aeronautics Advanced Air Vehicles Program Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Ames Research Center Armstrong Flight Research Center Commercial Supersonic Technology Glenn Research Center Integrated Aviation Systems Program Langley Research Center Low Boom Flight Demonstrator Quesst (X-59) Quesst: The Vehicle Supersonic Flight View the full article
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By NASA
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move a liquid hydrogen tank for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket into the factory’s final assembly area on April 22, 2025. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. NASA/Steven Seipel NASA completed another step to ready its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis III mission as crews at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans recently applied a thermal protection system to the core stage’s liquid hydrogen tank.
Building on the crewed Artemis II flight test, Artemis III will add new capabilities with the human landing system and advanced spacesuits to send the first astronauts to explore the lunar South Pole region and prepare humanity to go to Mars. Thermal protection systems are a cornerstone of successful spaceflight endeavors, safeguarding human life, and enabling the launch and controlled return of spacecraft.
The tank is the largest piece of SLS flight hardware insulated at Michoud. The hardware requires thermal protection due to the extreme temperatures during launch and ascent to space – and to keep the liquid hydrogen at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit on the pad prior to launch.
“The thermal protection system protects the SLS rocket from the heat of launch while also keeping the thousands of gallons of liquid propellant within the core stage’s tanks cold enough. Without the protection, the propellant would boil off too rapidly to replenish before launch,” said Jay Bourgeois, thermal protection system, test, and integration lead at NASA Michoud. “Thermal protection systems are crucial in protecting all the structural components of SLS during launch and flight.”
In February, Michoud crews with NASA and Boeing, the SLS core stage prime contractor, completed the thermal protection system on the external structure of the rocket’s liquid hydrogen propellant fuel tank, using a robotic tool in what is now the largest single application in spaceflight history. The robotically controlled operation coated the tank with spray-on foam insulation, distributing 107 feet of the foam to the tank in 102 minutes. When the foam is applied to the core stage, it gives the rocket a canary yellow color. The Sun’s ultraviolet rays naturally “tan” the thermal protection, giving the SLS core stage its signature orange color, like the space shuttle external tank.
Having recently completed application of the thermal protection system, teams will now continue outfitting the 130-foot-tall liquid hydrogen tank with critical systems to ready it for its designated Artemis III mission. The core stage of SLS is the largest ever built by length and volume, and was manufactured at Michoud using state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. (NASA/Steven Seipel) While it might sound like a task similar to applying paint to a house or spraying insulation in an attic, it is a much more complex process. The flexible polyurethane foam had to withstand harsh conditions for application and testing. Additionally, there was a new challenge: spraying the stage horizontally, something never done previously during large foam applications on space shuttle external tanks at Michoud. All large components of space shuttle tanks were in a vertical position when sprayed with automated processes.
Overall, the rocket’s core stage is 212 feet with a diameter of 27.6 feet, the same diameter as the space shuttle’s external tank. The liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks feed four RS-25 engines for approximately 500 seconds before SLS reaches low Earth orbit and the core stage separates from the upper stage and NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
“Even though it only takes 102 minutes to apply the spray, a lot of careful preparation and planning is put into this process before the actual application of the foam,” said Boeing’s Brian Jeansonne, the integrated product team senior leader for the thermal protection system at NASA Michoud. “There are better process controls in place than we’ve ever had before, and there are specialized production technicians who must have certifications to operate the system. It’s quite an accomplishment and a lot of pride in knowing that we’ve completed this step of the build process.”
The core stage of SLS is the largest NASA has ever built by length and volume, and it was manufactured at Michoud using state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. Michoud is a unique, advanced manufacturing facility where the agency has built spacecraft components for decades, including the space shuttle’s external tanks and Saturn V rockets for the Apollo program.
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
For more information on the Artemis Campaign, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/artemis/
News Media Contact
Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov
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