Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of posts introducing members of NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) Lucy team at Kennedy Space Center. The Lucy probe will lift off from the Florida spaceport on its journey to deep space.
By Danielle Sempsrott
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is scheduled to launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Oct. 16, 2021. The mission will be the first ever to study the Jupiter Trojan asteroids – two separate swarms of asteroids that are thought to be remnants of the initial material that formed the planets within the solar system. The mission will provide a glimpse into the origins of our solar system as we know it.
Meet one of the key members of the Lucy team:
Name: Latife H. Kuguoglu
Official title: Strength Analyst
Job responsibilities: I am a strength analyst for the strength and fatigue/fracture mechanics group in the Flight Structures Branch in support of the LSP Expendable Launch Vehicle Integrated Support contract (ELVIS 3). In this role, I am responsible for assessing contractors’ launch vehicle designs to ensure compliance with structural integrity requirements and NASA standards. I also support the certification, qualification, and technical insight and oversight reviews of the structural and mechanical design of launch vehicle components and systems. In addition, I perform stress analyses, fatigue life and safe life assessments, fracture mechanics, and damage growth assessments of the launch vehicle structural components.
Time working for NASA: I have been working for NASA as a contractor for a total of 22 years. I worked at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio for about seven years as an aerospace research engineer in advanced engine concepts and development. I have been working in LSP at Kennedy for about 15 years.
Degrees earned: I received a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Akdeniz University in Turkey, as well as a Master of Science in structures. I also received a Master of Science in dynamics of structures from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and later went on to receive a Ph.D. in fracture mechanics and composite materials from the University of Akron, Ohio.
Hometown: I was born and raised in Turkey and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, at a young age, where I eventually went on to work at Glenn Research Center. I currently live in Orlando, Florida.
Family: I was married to my late husband, Akin, since 1989. We have a daughter and a son, who both just became medical doctors. I can’t think of my life without my kids and my mom, who lives with us.
Hobbies: I like collecting stamps, oil painting, and kickboxing. I love to volunteer as a judge at the international science fairs and state/local science fairs. I like teaching students about engineering and rocketry and encouraging them to explore these fields with hands-on activities.
Fun fact: I have gifted Disney tickets to friends and family, but I have never been to Walt Disney World myself, even though I live in Orlando.