Deedee Healey: Striving for Mission Safety and Success

Name: Deirdre “DeeDee” Healey

Title: Director of Safety and Mission Assurance (Code 300)

Formal Job Classification: Aerospace engineer

Organization: Safety and Mission Assurance

What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission?

As the director of safety and mission assurance, I am responsible for safety, mission assurance, and technical authority in support of Goddard’s programs, projects, and institutional facilities. This is a very exciting time at Goddard with such missions as the James Webb Space Telescope, the next generation of climate science satellites, as well as new commercial launches from our Wallops Flight Facility, such as Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket. For these and all other activities, my goal is to achieve mission success, safely.  

What is your educational and work background?

I went to the University of Illinois on an ROTC scholarship, earning my Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering and being commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Force within the same week. From there, I went to work on the U.S. Space Force’s Milstar Communications Satellite Program near Boston. While there, I became interested in how government works, so I got a master’s in political science from Harvard by going to night school.

I remained in the Air Force for 20 years working in space systems safety and mission assurance, program management, engineering, operations, and policy, and holding such positions as program manager for the inertial Upper Stage, director for Titan Operations and Integration, and chief of the International Policy Branch for the U.S. Strategic Command. In 2006, I retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel.

How and why did you come to Goddard?

My last assignment in the Air Force was as the U.S. Strategic Command liaison to NASA Headquarters in Washington. Through that assignment, I got to meet people at NASA including the NASA head of safety and mission assurance. In 2007, he hired me to lead safety and mission assurance activities supporting NASA spacecraft. In 2013, I became director of the Missions and Programs Assessment Division at Headquarters.

In January 2022, I came to Goddard in my current position. I really wanted to be a part of Goddard because the center offers the opportunity to work on so many incredible things and contribute in so many ways. We’re on the leading edge of climate science, the search for life, and astrophysics, as well as developing new technologies that get incorporated in our everyday lives. In addition, we further international relationships through strong partnerships.

What is your vision as head of safety and mission assurance?

Overall, I want to take care of the people, as well as the mission. People are the lifeblood of the center. Without the people, there would be no mission.

I strive for “yes if.” That means not “no.” I want to find a way to do these incredible things safely. I want to help programs, projects, and missions succeed.

Put yourself out there, stay positive, and practice gratitude.

What are your first impressions of Goddard?

There are so many exciting things happening every day — all the launches from Wallops; all the missions in various stages of design, development, and operation; and the various partners that we work with including commercial, academia and international. Plus, Goddard is a beautiful campus, almost like working on a nature preserve. Goddard people are friendly, enthusiastic, and always helpful.

What do you do as Senior Champion for the Hispanic Advisory Committee for Employees (HACE)?

As senior champion for the Hispanic Advisory Committee for Employees (HACE), I meet monthly with the group and am involved in planning activities including mentoring. I help represent their interests at Goddard and advise and advocate on initiatives in support of their community. Most importantly, I am their advocate at Goddard.

What are your hobbies?

I like to spend time with our four cats, the “foster fails.” We were fostering four cats, intending on only keeping two, but of course you can guess how that story ends. It couldn’t have worked out better!

In addition, my wife and I like to travel, especially to see ancient ruins. Our favorite trip so far was to Machu Picchu, and we hope one day to make it to Egypt.

We do some stargazing from time to time. Over COVID, we bought a brand new telescope (to replace the one I had as a kid in 1975) and it’s been fantastic. Quite heavy, though!

I also love to read. Isaac Asimov is my favorite author. I enjoy playing games and watching movies, and I love music and concerts, especially rock and roll and R&B.

Who inspires you?

My wife. She’s the most kind, caring, and loving person you would ever want to meet and she makes me want to be a better person.

What quotes give you meaning?

I like quotes because others have said it better than I can. One of my favorites is:

“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

—Attributed to an old proverb.

It takes a team, it takes a village, to contribute in a big way. Another is:

“Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

This quote embodies putting people first. Like many others, I’ve often wondered why we are here, and what’s our purpose, and I think, perhaps it’s to take care of each other, as best we can and as our talents allow. That’s what I like about this quote. And finally:

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

—Helen Keller

I think if you start from the heart, you start from a place of love and service to others.

Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.

By Elizabeth M. Jarrell
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.