Suggested Searches

4 min read

Meet the GOES-T Team: Michael Rodelo

The first half of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing is being secured around NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T) inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Feb. 7, 2022.

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of six features introducing you to members of NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) team at Kennedy Space Center in Florida who are part of the GOES-T mission. The features will run weekly through March 1.

By Jason Costa
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite T (GOES-T) satellite is the third satellite in the GOES-R Series, the Western Hemisphere’s most advanced weather observing and environmental monitoring system. GOES-T will provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and monitoring of space weather.

GOES-T is scheduled to launch March 1, 2022, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy Space Center, is managing the launch. Meet one of the key members of the LSP team:

Michael Rodelo

Name: Michael Rodelo

What is your official title? Launch Site Integration Manager (LSIM)

What excites you about this science mission? The GOES-T mission is my first as the primary LSIM, so I’m pretty excited about that, though there’s a lot to be excited about. As a Florida resident, I experience the benefits of the GOES satellites every hurricane season, and I’m looking forward to following GOES-T once it becomes operational as “GOES-West” and positioned with a view of the Pacific Ocean and U.S. West coast. The GOES satellites also monitor space weather and the images that are produced are always stunning – I’m excited about the amazing images this mission will bring us.

What are your job responsibilities? I work on a team that provides the spacecraft with just about everything needed to finish preparing for launch. Typically, a spacecraft arrives at Kennedy Space Center with some amount of work to do prior to launch, which could be running tests, assembling some final components, loading fuel – on GOES-T, we needed to do all that and more. Some of my specific responsibilities as LSIM includes providing a clean area for teams to work on the spacecraft, and getting the fuel and fueling personnel it needs, just to name a few examples. The spacecraft also could need something in short order, such as additional cleanliness samples – I work to acquire those samples, document it, and add it to any relevant contracts. In short, I go to where the spacecraft is processing and keep in constant communication with the spacecraft team to make sure prelaunch needs are met.

What is your role on GOES-T, and how will your efforts contribute to its success? My role on the GOES-T mission varies day to day, so being present and proactive throughout the prelaunch process is an important way the LSIM contributes to mission success. Prior to launch, I work to make sure the GOES-T team has the support it needs to successfully complete spacecraft processing – the fueling, for example. In the days leading up to launch, after GOES-T is stacked atop the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, my role changes to NASA Spacecraft Coordinator. In this role, I become the point of contact between the GOES-T and ULA teams during pad testing and operations, maintaining constant communication as final preparations are made to ready the mission for liftoff.

How long have you worked at Kennedy Space Center/NASA? How long for LSP? I started as an intern at Kennedy in 2014 and moved to LSP in 2019.

What degree did you earn and why were you interested in that subject? I attended the University of Central Florida. My degree is in mechanical engineering because I liked the variety of focuses within the discipline.

Where do you live and what do you like to do outside work? I was born and raised in Orlando, Florida, where I still live. I enjoy watching and playing soccer and watching TV shows years after they were released – I’m currently watching “Breaking Bad.” I also like complaining about the Florida humidity.

What is a fun fact about yourself? I work for NASA! After seven years, the novelty has settled somewhat, but the missions, the people, and the launches are constant reminders of what a unique workplace I’m in.