Who I Am and What I Do
Hi, I'm Lisa Shore and I work at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas as an Extravehicular Activity (EVA) trainer and flight controller. I joined the EVA group in March of 2001 after spending the last 15 years in the Flight Design and Dynamics division where I was a Flight Design Officer (FDO, pronounced FiDO), Space Shuttle flight controller in the Mission Control Center (MCC). As a FDO, I became the first woman to ever be certified for the ascent phase of flight. My first flight as the Ascent FDO was STS-93 with Eileen Collins as the commander. It would have been an exciting experience even if we hadn't had a hole in the main engines on that flight. It's the FDO's job to know where the Shuttle is, was and where it's going. For a flight that is going to rendezvous with the Space Station or another object like the Hubble Space Telescope, it was my job to compute the launch time and the orbit into which the Shuttle inserted in order to accomplish the rendezvous. Aside from monitoring the nominal trajectory during the launch, it was also my responsibility to determine what action should be taken if any number of "what ifs" happened. These "what ifs" can range from a main engine going out to a leak in the crew cabin. The FDO determines whether or not the Shuttle can continue on to orbit or if the mission must be aborted. An abort can mean anything from returning to the Kennedy Space Center, landing in Africa or Spain, or landing after just one revolution of the Earth.

Since we only launched about 6 times a year, I didn't spend all of my time working missions but I did spend lot of time preparing for them. Between missions, a lot of time is spent training. This ranges from full up simulations with the MCC and astronauts, to practicing on stand alone simulators and reading technical procedures. We also did a lot of software application development. I personally don't enjoy programming but there still was plenty of requirements to write and testing to perform.

My new job in the EVA group has allowed me to experience a completely different side of the Space Shuttle and Space Station programs. I now train crews about the Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), which is a fancy name for the American space suits. I also teach them how to prepare for an EVA using the Space Shuttle or Space Station airlocks. I get lots of hands on experience with the space suits and the airlock mock-ups which is one of the best parts of my job. I can even participate in the underwater training sessions in the big pool here called the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL). The other part of my job is to be a backroom flight controller in the MCC during Shuttle and Space Station based spacewalks. I'm working my way up to becoming a fully certified frontroom MCC EVA Officer like I was as a FDO. That should keep me busy for at least the next few years!

The best thing about my job is that I feel really involved in the missions. When I work a flight I feel personally responsible for the lives of the astronauts onboard and do everything I can to ensure their safe return to earth. We train very hard to ensure that each mission is a success. There's nothing better than the sense of pride you feel when a mission goes well and all of the objectives have been met. It's definitely not a stress free job but it is very exciting at times.

Growing Up
I've been interested in the space program ever since I was a little girl and my father brought home pictures from the Apollo missions. In middle and high school I did well in science and math. I used to enjoy beating the boy's grades on tests, especially physics. Things got tougher once I got to college though, and I had to study a lot more to get good grades. The first Shuttle launched when I was a freshman in college at the University of Michigan. I had dreams of being an astronaut but my eye sight didn't cooperate with my plan. That didn't stop me from wanting to be involved in the space program. I interviewed with all of the big aerospace companies before I graduated and was very excited to be offered a job supporting Shuttle operations in Houston. I had been working for 22 days when the Challenger accident occurred. It was a very sad time but it only inspired me to work harder to make sure that it never happens again.

Personal
When I'm not at work I enjoy playing golf, softball, billiards, inline skating, attempting to play guitar, going to movies and reading sci-fi. I also spend a lot of time around the house with my 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 rabbits and turtle. If I could go back and change anything about myself when I was growing up I would try to not be so shy and get more involved in extracurricular activities at school. I would also make more of an effort to learn a foreign language or two.

Advice
Few areas are as international as space operations. This is even more true with the building of the international space station. I used to think that you had to be a genius to work at NASA. Now I know that while there are a few geniuses here and there, it's teamwork that really makes the American space program a success. When everybody pulls together and does their best, even the sky's not the limit!