I Am NASA Stennis: Pablo Gomez

When Pablo Gomez was a young boy in Cali, Colombia, South America, his eyes were opened to space through the pages of a National Geographic magazine subscription. Gomez viewed pictures from NASA’s Voyager and Pioneer missions. He learned about the Viking I mission, which was the first spacecraft to land on Mars in 1976.

“Back then, as a kid, I never imagined I would end up working on the space program at NASA,” Gomez said.

The Colombia native moved from South America to Mobile, Alabama, at 17 for college. Gomez earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of South Alabama. Later, he completed his Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Southern Mississippi before settling in Slidell, Louisiana.

Now, Gomez is expectant for NASA to return to the Moon and eventually to Mars. This will happen through the Artemis space program that Gomez has actively contributed to as part of his 26-year-career at Stennis Space Center.

Gomez experienced a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” with his involvement in the Green Run test series, where the four RS-25 engines and core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for Artemis I were fully tested together at Stennis.

As NASA’s chief of electrical test operations at Stennis, Gomez supported instrumentation efforts to ensure the B-2 Test Stand was equipped for Green Run.
Starting from scratch, his team purchased and installed a new data acquisition system and rewired the test stand. The team designed, installed, and performed checkouts on dozens of electrical interface enclosures. This process allowed them to record, review, and deliver valuable instrumentation data during the Green Run test series.

Additionally, Gomez led the fabrication of umbilical cables, which connected the SLS rocket to equipment on the test stand. For his efforts, Gomez received the NASA Silver Achievement Award.

“My proudest moment was staffing a (test control center) console during the SLS core stage testing,” Gomez said.

His group was responsible for recording and displaying low- and high-speed data and video throughout activation of the test stand and the subsequent test series.

“I was also very proud when the A-3 Test Control Center was selected to be the test control center for SLS during Green Run,” Gomez said. “I worked on the design of the A-3 Test Control Center while working on the A-3 Test Stand project a decade earlier.” From South America to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, Gomez said he feels right at home at Stennis.

“Stennis has been doing a good job in attracting a diverse culture,” he said. “Stennis is like a big family. I have developed great friends throughout the years. Additionally, my job is close to where I live, and it is a great place to work.”

For information about Stennis Space Center, visit Stennis Space Center.