Jessica Fichuk...

Me in the flight deck of the shuttle

About Me

HOWDY! My name is Jessica Fichuk and I am a junior Aerospace Engineering major from Texas A&M University! Whoop! I have ALWAYS wanted to work at NASA and to become an astronaut. Well, here I am working at NASA, and let me tell you, it is AMAZING!

Working at NASA

I am currently on my first co-op tour where I am working in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (SVMF). It is AWESOME! I work in the building with all the full size mockups of the shuttle and the international space station! I have two projects I am working on, the first being Node 2.

Node 2 is a high fidelity mockup that will be used to train astronauts before they go up in orbit. The mockup familiarizes them with all the components, systems, etc. I am helping install various parts in the mockup, labeling various pieces, and creating Fire Detection System (FDS) panels for the Node. It is really SUPER cool because the Node is SO complex!

My second project is the Partial Gravity Simulator. I am certifying it for use for lunar and Martian gravity simulation. Basically I get to be the test subject and bounce around in lunar gravity! There was paperwork I had to go through before that, but it was DEFINITELY worth it!

COOL Stuff

As a NASA co-op you get to participate in some REALLY awesome stuff! I have been on more then 15 tours of different areas of NASA. I have seen Mission Control, the place where they test the spacesuits, Ellington Field, and much more. I have also had the chance to fly the space shuttle simulator (I crashed it while landing.whoops), as well as dock the shuttle to the international space station! We also get to go to lectures by some really awesome people like Gene Kranz, Chris Kraft, etc!

The social life here at NASA is always going on. There is something to do every night with the co-ops, ranging from scuba diving to sky diving to laser tag!

I highly recommend applying for the co-op program because it is REALLY awesome and is a DREAM come true for me!

Me with the crew of STS-116