Marcelo Citino Dasilva

Marcelo Dasilva is a Computer Scientist supporting the Office of the Chief Information Office (OCIO) Applications and Platform Services (APS) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida as an IT Specialist. As a web manager for KSC and Glenn Research Center (GRC), Marcelo is responsible for a wide portfolio of public-facing websites managing content and providing governance in support to the NASA Mission.

Experience

Marcelo began his career at KSC as a software systems engineer and software application developer for The Boeing Company, where he worked on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Programs. During his time there, Marcelo was involved in several Research and Development projects (for telemetry and high speed graphical data displays), development of the Command Launch Control System (CLCS) ground support systems, launch operations support, and the STS-107 Columbia Disaster Recovery and Investigation (by developing a rapid database tool to geo-track debris information and to scan all the Reinforced Carbon Carbon from another orbiter, Discovery, to create a 3D model – aiding the investigation).

He later worked for United Launch Alliance (ULA) in software development, converting and automating launch procedure documents into an electronic format for the Delta II and Delta IV Programs.

Marcelo made remarkable contributions to the International Space Station (ISS) as a Command and Data Handling (C&DH) subsystem test lead engineer. In this pivotal role, he conducted extensive testing of multiple flight hardware, performed flight software loads, and excelled in troubleshooting activities. Additionally, Marcelo played a key role in conducting the closeout of Multi-Element Integration Testing (MEIT) within the Integrated Truss Segments (S-0, S-1, P-1, S-3, and P-3) of the space station. His contributions were crucial to the overall success of the ISS Program.

In 2009, Marcelo joined NASA as a civil servant, continuing to develop software applications in Kennedy’s Information and Technology branch. Participated in Source Evaluation Boards representing IT. Contributed to the Launch Control System ground support software application development for the Space Launch System (SLS). Currently, he supports OCIO in APS’s Web Services Office (WSO) branch as project web-manager for multiple centers.

Marcelo has been the recipient of multiple awards, most recently the NASA KSC Certificate of Commendation from the Center Director, the NASA Silver Group Achievement Award, the OCIO’s APS MVP Award, the Best of KSC Software, NASA Honor Award, NASA Group Achievement Awards, NASA Gold Dollar Award, and the NASA KSC Superior Accomplished Award for HR Office Employee of the Year 2011.

Education

Dasilva graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1996, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. Later, he pursued further education and obtained a Master of Science degree in Computer Science with an emphasis in Distributed Systems from Webster University in 2004.

Personal

Originally born in Washington, D.C. as an identical twin (to Fernando), the Dasilva family relocated to Brazil in 1973. There he spent 14 years in Sao Paulo, S.P., attending elementary and middle school at E.E. Ennio Voss, and high school at E.E. Oswaldo Aranha and Germano Ritter Adventist School. In 1987, he embarked on an academic journey moving to Longwood, Florida, a suburban area north of Orlando.

Dasilva possesses fluency in English, Portuguese, and has a working knowledge of Spanish. Presently, he resides in rural Christmas, Florida, on a small nursery mini-farm alongside his husband, Jeremy, as well as their goats and chickens.

Biography last updated January 2025