Clarence Bell. . . . .

Well, if you’re viewing my profile, I’ll assume that you’re interested in working for NASA Johnson Space Center as a co-op and you want to know what its like. Before we get into that, let me tell you a little about myself.

I am an electrical engineering major in the middle of my junior year and I attend Howard University in Washington, DC, one of the most prestigious HBCU’s(historically black college) in the country, also known to have the best homecomings too!

How I became a Co-op

Ok, unlike some of the other co-ops who always dreamed of working for NASA since they were children, working for NASA came to me in an unexpecting booth at my school’s career fair. I guess the mindset I had about college was that you do some internships, finish school as soon as you can, and then get a job in the real world. So, although I knew about co-oping, I wasn’t a big fan of it since it delayed my graduation from school. But, I met Anne Roemer, the co-op program coordinator, at the booth and talked with her about the program and found out they were interviewing the next day at NASA HQ in downtown. Well, interviewing for a co-op position located in Houston completely caught me by surprise, especially since it meant leaving in the middle of the school year. So, I thought about it for a little bit as I walked around looking at the other booths and I was about to leave the career fair when I thought “Wait a minute! Am I really going to miss an opportunity to work for NASA!?” So, I went back to the booth and put my name on the interviewing list and the next day, caught the metrorail to NASA HQ. Now I’m a co-op here at NASA!

Me in front of the Super Guppy at Ellington Field

Working as a Co-op

Working at the Johnson Space Center has been great! On my first tour, I worked in the Electromagnetic Systems Branch of the Avionics Systems Division(EV4). One of the projects I worked on dealt with evaluating the electromagnetic shield effectiveness of the docking mechanism assembly. The project involved placing the shuttle docking system into the electromagnetic interference(EMI) chamber to test how well the pyro bolts handled various levels of EMI. The pyro bolts in the docking system serve as a backup for releasing the shuttle from the space station or any other object by detonating in case the hooks fail to release on command. Working on this project helped me better understand the importance of electromagnetic compatibility(EMC) and taking EMI into account when using electrical devices.

Another project I worked on involved building an antenna that would be placed in the payload area of a satellite. This was a shielding effectiveness test that tested the amount of electric field radiated by the antenna that escaped from the satellite pay load area. I had the opportunity to design and build a low and high frequency half-wave dipole antenna that was used for this shielding effectiveness test.

Along with really interesting projects, the personnel make the working environment really awesome! They enjoy working here at the Space Center and knowing that their work has an impact on shuttle and space station missions. In addition, the people I worked around made my transition into the area really smooth by providing the resources and information I needed to be successful.

Me and other co-ops in front of mission control entrance

Life as a Co-op

As much as you’ll enjoy working for NASA, you’ll enjoy your time outside of work as well. One of the biggest things that has made my experience enjoyable is the weather. I love warm weather so when I came here in January and the temperature was 70 degrees, it just made my day. Along with the pleasant spring weather comes the outings that the co-ops do, such as trips to Galveston, catching a movie, or going to a sporting event. If you’re into something, there’s usually at least one other person who’s interested as well. Whether its bowling(which I love), softball, soccer, camping, or going to a house party, there’s always something for you to get involved in while you’re down here.

So when its all said and done, if you get the chance to co-op here at Johnson Space Center, you should definitely take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity! You can email me at clarence.a.bell@nasa.gov if you want to know more!