Editor’s note: This is the second 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:
Name: Lois M. Clutter
What is your official title? Communications Operations Lead for VAE-1, Launch Services Program’s Ground Systems Integration Branch
What are your job responsibilities? I support LSP as a Mission Communications Engineer (MCE) and a Flight Operations Engineer. The MCE team designs communication circuits that transport the spacecraft’s command, telemetry, and control data. When the spacecraft is integrated to the launch vehicle, we process the data and provide it to the mission team. As a Flight Operations Engineer, I also help make sure all the launch vehicle tracking sites are functional and able to support the mission.
What is your role on GOES-T, and how will your efforts contribute to its success?
As MCE on the GOES-T mission, I make sure the spacecraft’s communication requirements are met during prelaunch processing and launch operations – this includes voice, video, command, telemetry, and their supporting networks. The MCE team will ensure local communications for the mission team and extend communications to the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Maryland – which houses the majority of GOES-R Series mission operations – and the Lockheed Martin Mission Operations Center in Colorado, enabling the spacecraft manufacturer to support the mission.
What excites you about this science mission? Living in Florida during hurricane season is a great way to appreciate the value of the NOAA and its satellites for providing severe weather information. It is awesome to know that you are part of a team that provides this type of information to people all over the globe. I’m so proud knowing my coworkers and myself are a part of this.
How long have you worked at Kennedy Space Center/NASA? How long for LSP? My career in the aerospace industry started at historic Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral in 1990. I transitioned to NASA in 2007, became part of LSP in 2013, and returned to Hangar AE – LSP’s communications center – where I originally started out!
What degree did you earn and why were you interested in that subject? I have a Bachelor of Science in computer science engineering from Rollins College, but my first degree was in biology from Waynesburg College. During that program, I took an inorganic chemistry class that required us to use a computer to compare our findings to that of the computer – this was the Dark Ages before personal computers were everywhere. Interacting with a computer fascinated me, so I finished my biology degree and then dived right into computer science engineering.
Where did you grow up, and where do you live now? I grew up in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, and now I live in Merritt Island, Florida. I love to be at the beach and in the water – swimming, fishing, and boating rank high with me!
What do you like to do outside work (hobbies, sports, etc.)? My husband and I put in a vegetable garden every year, consisting mainly of tomatoes, peppers, greens, and herbs. We use the vegetables to make marinara, salsa, and hot sauce with a kick to it!
Provide a fun fact about yourself: I did competitive swimming growing up and still enjoy working out, weather permitting.