Editor’s note: This is the third 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.
Name: Michael Bolding
Official title: Vehicle Systems Engineer (VSE)
Job responsibilities: As the VSE, I’m the system engineering expert responsible for leading NASA’s multi-disciplined technical team in all aspects of launch vehicle insight/oversight. This involves providing assurance of launch vehicle launch readiness and overall mission success.
Time working for NASA: I have been working in LSP at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for five years.
Degrees earned: I attended the University of Central Florida and received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering.
Hometown: I am a native Floridian. I was born in Rockledge and now live in Merritt Island.
Family: I have been married to my wife, Amy, for 15 years. I have a beautiful daughter, Elara, who is 13, and a handsome son, Liam, who is 11. We also have a rambunctious Cavalier King Charles Spaniel mix named Eva.
Hobbies: I have a bucket list of hobbies, and I’m checking a few off every year! Most recently, my hobbies include vertical gardening, smelting to forging, and becoming an aquarist with 2,500 gallons of breeding tanks. My lifelong passion is offshore fishing.
Fun fact: I once got stuck in a storm for four hours 140 miles offshore, with seas exceeding 30 feet while in a 25-foot boat. I made it through by continuously changing positions through each wave. During the wave peaks, I was standing on the transom looking straight down, and on the way up the wave, I laid flat to the deck.