Stephanie L. Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov
Kelly Humphries/Josh Byerly
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov / josh.byerly@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 11-353
THREE NEW FLIGHT DIRECTORS CHOSEN TO LEAD NASA'S MISSION CONTROL
HOUSTON -- NASA has selected three new flight directors to manage
International Space Station operations. Judd Frieling, Tomas
Gonzalez-Torres and Greg Whitney will join a select group of human
spaceflight leaders in the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control
Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA's flight directors lead a team of flight controllers, support
personnel and engineering experts from around the world. They also
are involved in cargo and crew vehicle integration with the station
and developing plans for future exploration missions.
"As we move into a new era of spaceflight, these flight directors will
help us transition the knowledge and experience from the existing
human spaceflight programs into the next period of exploration and
space station operations," said John McCullough, chief of the Flight
Director Office at Johnson. "This includes development of new
technologies and techniques for spaceflight and development and
execution of our future missions in the years to come."
After the new flight directors have completed their training and
certification, NASA will have 25 active flight directors supporting
the space station, exploration, commercial spaceflights and new
technology demonstration initiatives. Prior to the selection of
Frieling, Gonzalez-Torres and Whitney, only 80 people had served as
NASA flight directors in the almost 50 years of human spaceflight.
Judd Frieling was born in Austin, Texas, but considers Pflugerville,
Texas, his hometown. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1996. He began
a diverse flight control career in 1997 as an Onboard Data Interfaces
and Network (ODIN) officer, serving as lead for the STS-97 station
assembly mission, and worked to resolve multiple computer failures
during the STS-100 mission. He was instrumental in developing new
operations processes and procedures, allowing the Mission Control
Center to operate with significantly smaller staffs during quiet
periods aboard the station. In 2004, Frieling transitioned to space
shuttle flight control as a Data Processing Systems (DPS) officer,
where he supported 20 shuttle flights. He served as lead DPS officer
for STS-118 and STS-130.
Tomas Gonzalez-Torres was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He earned
a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from Iowa State
University in 1998. A veteran spacewalk flight controller,
Gonzalez-Torres has been the group lead for the Extravehicular
Activities (EVA) Systems Group for the past three years, and recently
has been acting chief of the EVA Operations Branch. He joined NASA in
1994 and worked as a spacewalk task and systems instructor.
Gonzalez-Torres became an EVA officer in 2005, working 17 shuttle
flights, including lead for the STS-121 assembly mission that
featured tests of shuttle heat shield inspection and repair
techniques. He served as the lead spacewalk officer for the final
Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, STS-125, and four space
station expedition spacewalks.
Greg Whitney was born in Albany, N.Y., but considers Rye, N.H., his
hometown. He earned a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering
from the University of Texas in 2002. He joined NASA in 2002 and
supported space station activities as an Operations Planner. Whitney
also supported space shuttle missions as a Flight Activities Officer
(FAO), developing plans to optimize crew operations. This resume
includes 14 space station expeditions and 12 space shuttle missions,
and he served as the lead FAO for the last shuttle flight, STS-135,
earlier this year. He also spent time as an acting group lead for
spaceflight planning activities.
Photos of the new flight directors are available online at:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/fltdir2011.html
For information about the International Space Station, visit:
-end-
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