Daniel Matz...

Hello, everyone! My name is Daniel Matz. I am from Mechanicsburg , Pennsylvania , which is outside of Harrisburg and really close to Hershey (and yes, it smells like chocolate there).

I am currently attending the Georgia Institute of Technology, where I am majoring in Aerospace Engineering.

Before I started working here at JSC, I participated in the AIAA Space Design Competition, in which my team designed a mission to deliver hydrogen to the surface of Mars.

About my co-op tours.

During my first tour at JSC, I worked in EP4, which is the propulsion branch of the Energy Systems Division. There, I created a sizing program that takes mission parameters as inputs and tells the user how much propellant the vehicle will need, how heavy the vehicle will be, how large the propellant tanks will be, and lots of other information.

I also did a lot of work (including CAD, build-up, and testing) for a project called ReCirc, which is a system that controls the humidity of gases that are being recycled through fuel cells or ISRU (in-situ resource utilization, which is making stuff we need, like water, out of material already on Mars or the Moon) systems. I also worked a little on the testing of a Liquid Oxygen Bellows Accumulator, which is a component of a system that will eventually replace the old RCS (reaction control system) thrusters on the shuttle with new thrusters that use non-toxic propellants, instead of the hypergolic propellants that are used now, which light on fire when they touch each other, and are also very toxic. The last big project I had was to assist with testing RCS rain covers for the shuttle. The covers rip off during flight, and we went to a wind tunnel to test new covers that had pouches on them, so that they would rip off earlier and thus be moving slow enough to not cause damage to the orbiter. I had a few other projects that I did on the side, but these three should give you a good idea.

On my second tour, I worked in DF64, which is the Motion Control System group. This group is responsible for supporting the Mission Control console position called ADCO (Attitude Determination and Control Officer). ADCOs are the people who monitor and control the attitude of the International Space Station using the four control moment gyros on board. While working in DF64, I began the training flow for the ADCO backroom position, called HawkI. I got the opportunity to OJT (on the job training) many simulations and even the STS-114 mission. My main project was to work on a computer program called BART (Basic Attitude Replication Tool). This program modeled the attitude control system of the station, and will hopefully be used by the group in the future to quickly analyze maneuvers and attitude holds. I also had the chance to take two Russian classes during this work tour.

My current tour is with DF62, the Shuttle Guidance and Control group. This group supports the Mission Control console position GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control). GNC is responsible for monitoring the Digital Autopilot (DAP), which controls RCS jet firings, OMS gimbal positions during OMS burns, SSME gimbal positions during ascent, and aerosurface positions during entry. GNC also monitors the onboard IMUs (inertial measurement units), star trackers, GPS, TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation), MLS (Microwave Landing System), air data probes, and radar altimeters.

While working with this group, I began training for the GNC backroom position for orbit operations, called GNC Support. My main project was to update a console tool called CRANS (Configurable Real-time Analysis System). I coded a new section of the tool, and began work on testing it so that it could be certified for use.

That's about all as far as work is concerned. There is plenty of stuff to do while you aren't at work: everything from curling to skydiving. There are so many co-ops that no matter what you like to do, you'll probably find someone else who will do it with you.

Good luck, and feel free to email me at gtg829r@mail.gatech.edu if you have any questions!