Station Nation: Meet Tess Caswell, Extravehicular Activity Flight Controller and Lead Capsule Communicator
Tess Caswell supports the International Space Station of the Johnson Space Center of NASA in Houston as a capsule communicator, or Capcom, and helps to plan and train for future spatial weather with the Extravaried Activity Team (EVA) in the direction of flight operations. She is currently in rotation as a CAPCOM leader, helping to develop training and processes for the Artemis campaign by taking advantage of her experience by supporting the space station.
It helps to ensure that astronauts aboard the spacecraft receive the right information at the right time. This role involves a range of activities, learning the language of the spaceship and its on -board operations in participation in simulations to relay critical information in the crew, especially during dynamic operations or when things go wrong.
Read the rest to find out more about Tess!
Where are you from?
Soldotna, Alaska.
How would you describe your work to your family or friends who may not know NASA?
The Capcoms are the people who speak to astronauts in the name of Mission Control, and I am the head of the Capcoms team which will support the missions on the Moon as part of the Artemis of NASA campaign.
What advice would you give to young people who aspire to work in the space industry or NASA?
Tess Caswell
Flight controller of extradehicular activity and lead capsule communicator
I like to encourage young people to think about the Space Travel part inspires them. We live in a time when many companies take advantage of space for different ends, including tourism, regulations, profit and exploration. It is important to think about what aspect of the space trip to you – or to use things like internships to understand it!
If you are enthusiastic about space but you do not want to be an engineer, there are still jobs for you.
How long have you been working for NASA?
Eight years, plus a few courses.
What was your way to NASA?
Student internships and projects were my way to NASA. As the first cycle, I worked in a student rocket laboratory, which gave me first -hand to the experience of construction and the test of equipment. During summers, I participated in courses to explore various NASA careers and centers. My final internship led directly to my first job after the college as the flight controller of environmental and thermal operating systems (ethics) in Mission Control for the Space Station.
I left NASA for a while to continue an advanced diploma in planetary geology and spent two years working at Blue Origin as the main flight controller for the new Shepard capsule. In the end, however, I am motivated by exploration and I chose to return to NASA where it is our goal.
Is there a figure of space that you admired or someone inspired by you?
It is difficult to name a specific figure that inspires me. Instead, it is the caliber of people on the whole who work in the flight operations at the Johnson Space Center. Not just astronauts, but people of mission control, in the back-shop supporting the control center and in the training teams for astronauts and flight controllers. Each person demonstrates excellence every day. It inspires me to bring my best me to the table in each project.
What is your favorite NASA memory or the most significant project you worked on during your stay with NASA?
It’s difficult!
My current favorite is probably the day I certified Capcom for the space station. The first time talking to the crew is both scary and exciting. You know that the whole community of the space station stops and listens when you speak, but it is incredibly cool to be privileged by speaking to the crew. So your first days are a bit scary, but great. After being declared certified, the crew called for space – to congratulate me. It was a very special moment. I saved a recording!
What do you like to share on station?
Tess Caswell
Flight controller of extradehicular activity and lead capsule communicator
When I visit people in the mission control, I like to highlight the photo of the unit node built by the United States and the Zarya module built in Russian coupled in the shuttle cargo bay. The idea that these two modules were designed and built in different countries, launched in two different vehicles and connected for the first time in low terrestrial orbit reminds me of what we can all do when we work together through the geopolitical limits. The space station brings people together in a common mission that benefits us all.
If you could have dinner with any astronaut, past or present, who would it be?
Sally Ride, certainly.
Do you have a favorite memory or moment linked to the space that seems to you?
If I had to choose one, I would say that it is the day when a person in NASA visited my primary school in 1995. I remember having been completely captivated by his presentation and dies of murder of questions when he came to my class later. It is a favorite memory because it has poured fuel on the spark of my interest in early childhood for spatial exploration. It was not the thing that initially stung my interest, but this visit made the dream achievable and put me on the course that made me at NASA today.
What are the main projects you worked on during your stay at NASA? What was your favorite?
I worked in Mission Control for the Space Station as an ethics flight controller and, later, as Capcom. I also certified the Boutique controller of the EVA task and scripted three space balls that were carried out on the space station. While I work in EVA, I also helped design the products and processes that will be used to design moon bites for artemis astronauts and how flight control operations will work during dynamic space balls and science focused.
Developing an EVA is an enormous effort of integration, and you work with a wide range of perspectives to build a solid plan. Then the space balls themselves were both difficult and enriching. They did not go exactly to plan, but we kept the crew in safety and achieved our main objectives!
I am fortunate to have had so many interesting experiences by working at NASA, and I know that there will be many more.
What are your hobbies / things you like to do outside of work?
I like to remain active, especially running, taekwondo, hiking and cross -country skiing (which is a little difficult to train in Houston). I spend as much time as I can pilot my CUB J-3 CUB, trying to make a better driver every time I fly. Finally, I read and wrote fiction to let my imagination wander.
Launch of a day or night launch?
Night launch!
Favorite space film?
Apollo 13, hands down!
NASA WORM or logo of meatballs?
Green – Elegant and cool!
NASA and its partners have supported humans living and permanently working in space since November 2000. After 25 years of continuous human presence, the space station remains the only space test field for training and research for deep space missions, allowing the Artemis campaign of NASA, lunar exploration and future Mars missions.
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