Dream Jobs: Thermal systems engineer TOP: Shonte Tucker (center) worked on the European Space Agency's Herschel mission. NASA. Shonte Tucker is a senior thermal systems engineer at NASA'S Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Where are you from? I am from Altadena, California. (Altadena is a neighboring city of Pasadena.) Describe the first time you made a personal connection with outer space. As a child l attended 4-H camp, and while there I remember looking at the moon and the constellations. How did you end up working in the space program? My mother has been with Lockheed Martin for 40 years (in October 2011). When I was growing up she would talk about the amazing aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Martin and she would always bring home pictures, mugs and other things touting the amazing technology developed by Lockheed Martin. So given that exposure (or perhaps By NASA.gov on 01.04.17 Word Count 569 This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1
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Dream Jobs: Thermal systems engineer
TOP: Shonte Tucker (center) worked on the European Space Agency's Herschel mission. NASA.
Shonte Tucker is a senior thermal systems engineer at NASA'S Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, California.
Where are you from?
I am from Altadena, California. (Altadena is a neighboring city of Pasadena.)
Describe the first time you made a personal connection with outer space.
As a child l attended 4-H camp, and while there I remember looking at the moon and the
constellations.
How did you end up working in the space program?
My mother has been with Lockheed Martin for 40 years (in October 2011). When I was
growing up she would talk about the amazing aircraft designed and built by Lockheed
Martin and she would always bring home pictures, mugs and other things touting the
amazing technology developed by Lockheed Martin. So given that exposure (or perhaps
By NASA.gov on 01.04.17
Word Count 569
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1
indoctrination) at home, coupled with tours of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), my fate
was sealed early on. By the fifth grade, my first long-term goal was set – I was on a mission
to become a mechanical engineer and work at JPL.
Who inspired you?
My mom greatly inspired me, as well as several JPL mentor/tutors I met while in high
school. I am so grateful to all of them. Upon graduation, I asked one of the tutors what I
could do to repay him and he said, "Do the same thing for someone else." I really took it to
heart and have been very involved in the community ever since.
What is a senior thermal systems engineer?
My role as a senior thermal systems engineer is to ensure that the spacecraft and its
payload remain within safe operating and survival temperature limits. I utilize a host of
thermal analysis tools to determine the best approach for maintaining the temperature of
the spacecraft and its payload. Thermal systems engineers use temperature sensors, thin
film heaters, multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets, and other thermal control technologies
like heat pipes to maintain safe operating and survival temperatures for spacecraft and
payload components.
Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career.
The launch of the Dawn spacecraft on September 27, 2007, was by far my favorite moment
so far in my career. I had the honor of being the thermal mission operations team lead for
the Dawn spacecraft. The mission operations role was new to me and the thermal
complexity of the spacecraft made the job extremely challenging. The learning curve was
steep and the pace of the project was very fast. The launch and check-out period
presented some thermal challenges, however, they were met and the spacecraft is
performing well.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to take the same careerpath as you?
My advice is:
-Take heat transfer and thermodynamics classes as an undergraduate in college
-In graduate school pick a research project that allows you to exercise basic heat transfer
principles
-Take all graduate courses in heat transfer, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics/