Garret Fitzpatrick...

This is me

"The call"

It was about 6:42 p.m. Central Time, on a brisk March night in the tundra of Wisconsin when I received "the call" on my cell phone. The call came through as unavailable so I didn't think much of it at first. It turned out to be Mr. Bob Musgrove, head of the co-op program at Johnson Space Center, asking me if I was still interested in becoming a co-op. Of course, it did not occur to me until 15 minutes or so into the conversation that I was being offered a job, but as soon as I caught on, my jaw dropped and I've been wide-eyed ever since.

Well, ok don't get all freaked out- its not like I walk around with this stupid shocked look on my face everywhere I go. Metaphorically speaking, I'm a kid in a candy store down here at JSC and I'm amazed every day that I have the opportunity to drive through its gates. Whoa-that was deep.

So after I informed my family and friends of the news, some cheered, some cried, and some lost complete faith in the federal government, fled the country and moved to Canada. I, on the other hand, packed my bags and got ready to live in Texas, a place I'd only heard about in Cowboy movies and Super Bowls.

"Who am I?"

I know what you're thinking. "Why should I continue reading this guy's bio?" Well keep reading- there will be a surprise at the end!

Greatest city in the world

"Why me?"

If you are reading my bio, you are most likely either A) interested in one day being a co-op, B) already accepted as a co-op or C) some random person who typed my name into a search engine. If you are C), that's just weird. But people in A) and B) have come to the right place. My best advice for people who are trying to get a co-op spot here is to be well-rounded. No, this doesn't mean packing on a few extra pounds. This means going out and getting involved with a lot of different things and having interests in several areas. Co-ops here get to pick where they want to work once they get here and it helps a great deal to be versatile and have skills in many different areas. You don't have to have a perfect G.P.A. or know more things about computers or physics than anyone else this side of the Mississippi to get a job here. You just need to be a versatile, team-oriented hard worker.

Astronaut someday? Well, I've got a long way to go.

"What do I do?"

My first work tour was in the Fall of 2003 and I was assigned to EC3, the Crew Escape Group of the Life Support and Habitability branch of the Crew and Thermal Systems Division of the Engineering Directorate. Confused yet? Basically my group works with everything dealing with the orange Launch and Entry Suits you see the astronauts wearing when they, ya know, launch and re-enter. I was given two projects during that semester. One called for me to design, test, and build a Multi-User Cooling Unit to provide liquid cooling to crewmembers while they waited around outside training simulators. That was an amazing project, mainly because I got to come up with my first official NASA acronym (MUCU!), and I got to see a project through from initial concepts to a completed prototype.

My other project was more of a research task that looked into a project called the Personnel Rescue Sphere (PRS). The PRS was designed as a means of rescuing the crew of a disabled orbiter and transferring them to a rescue vehicle. My part in the project called for studying what testing and analyses had been done on this project in the past, comparing that data with today's standards, and determining what further testing and/or analyses was needed for future development. All in all, some pretty fun and exciting stuff.

My second tour was in the Summer of 2004 and I decided to try out the Mission Operations side of JSC, working in DF53, the Space Station Mechanisms and Maintenance group. My main duties involved creating a "cheat sheet" for station racks mechanisms, editing and updating racks drawings, and earning an instructor certification in the ISS Racks Removal and Installation Skills class. This was also a great tour that helped me see a wide range of operations-from sitting on console in mission control to teaching a class to both flight controllers and astronauts. The highlight of the tour came on my second to last work day in which I got to teach my class to the commander and pilot of STS-121!

For my third tour, I decided to come back to engineering, working in the EVA Tools group of EC5. My main project was to research and build a prototype biological sample collection tool for the Desert RATS team that runs fully suited exploration tests in the Arizona desert. Their purpose is to develop equipment and procedures that will one day be used by explorers of the moon and Mars. This project was a great experience in collecting a large amount of research from previous studies and existing industries to design and build an actual piece of hardware that could ultimately aid explorers in finding life-if it exists-on the surface of Mars. In addition, I was able to experience the first space shuttle launch since the Columbia disaster, supporting the mission's three EVAs from the EVA engineering support offices. It was an especially good feeling to be a part of the first successful shuttle repair when Steve Robinson removed two protruding gap fillers from the underside of the shuttle!

"NASA pitch"

Ok, now here's my time to give my NASA pitch. Until the recent launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, NASA has been working hard to recertify the shuttles for flight. I, as well as almost every other co-op at NASA, had only been able to experience NASA during these Return to Flight efforts. This was an interesting time to start working here, as I have seen firsthand the tremendous capabilities of so many dedicated workers who have given everything they have to get the shuttle fleet flying again. Workers here care deeply about what they do and as I watched Discovery's liftoff from the auditorium of JSC, I was overcome with a powerful sense of pride in being a part of something so breathtaking alongside such truly extraordinary people. It was an unbelievable moment and I couldn't think of anything else I'd be more excited to be a part of.

Hansel and Zoolander prepare for their walkoff

Alright, I have a confession to make. There is no surprise. I couldn't think of any other way to get people to read all the way to the end. And if you're one of those people who just skipped to the end without reading everything- then I guess you beat the system.

"Contact me"

Feel free to direct all questions, comments, concerns, or complaints to gfitzpatrick@wisc.edu or garret.r.fitzpatrick@nasa.gov. Actually, complaints should go to my friend Josh, at gtg275m@mail.gatech.edu. Thanks and have a great day!