Ohio State alum reflects on NASA career, honored to have the opportunity

Not many can say their profession has actually been out of this world, however Ohio State alum Nancy J. Currie-Gregg is certainly one of them. 

With 4 house shuttle missions underneath her belt, the Troy, Ohio, native is certainly one of solely 50 U.S. girls and the second-ever Buckeye to function a NASA astronaut. 

After retiring from house flight and gaining 35 years of expertise in NASA and the army, Currie-Gregg at the moment works as a professor of engineering observe, industrial & programs engineering and aerospace engineering at Texas A&M College and runs their Protected Methods Evaluation and Practical Analysis aerospace analysis lab. 

Currie-Gregg, born in 1958, stated the earliest reminiscences she has are these of her dad taking her out to airfields to look at planes, which rapidly caught her curiosity. She joined NASA in 1987 as a flight simulation engineer. 

“I can recall desirous to fly most likely earlier than I might even stroll and dreaming about flying,” Currie-Gregg stated. “And I used to be very blessed as a result of nobody, no trainer ever stated ‘little women can’t try this.’”

Throughout her time at NASA, Currie-Gregg participated in 4 house flight missions: STS-57, STS-70, STS-88 and STS-109, spending 1,000 hours in house. 

Currie-Gregg stated her third house flight mission, which was additionally the primary Worldwide House Station Meeting mission, stands out. 

“I examine it to love my moon touchdown, you understand, Currie-Gregg stated. “I’m by no means gonna have a moon touchdown, however that was means up there from an expert perspective to be part of that and to have been answerable for all of the robotic arm operations and to be the flight engineer on that flight.”

Currie-Gregg was additionally a part of a crew tasked with servicing the Hubble House Telescope, a telescope launched in 1990 to discover objects in house. She stated her function on this mission, which has a fantastic influence on youthful STEM college students, meant loads to her. 

“We landed after which virtually instantly the science staff for Hubble was sending us pictures from the digital camera system that we put in,” Currie-Gregg stated. 

Currie-Gregg stated she was blessed that she was in a position to get such alternatives. 

“NASA was a really equal alternative setting, america army was very a lot an equal alternative setting by the point I got here alongside, however I understand the sacrifices individuals made earlier than me to allow these alternatives for me,” Currie-Gregg stated. 

Tom Sanzone, whose 43-year profession with NASA concerned coaching Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong and different Apollo astronauts in using Hamilton Sundstrand’s Moveable Life Help System backpack worn on the moon, stated Currie-Gregg is well-respected. 

“Nancy was held, I say this primarily as a result of I’ve heard it from so many individuals and so many astronauts, that Nancy was held in very excessive esteem in lots of areas, not the least of which was technical,” Sanzone stated. 

In the case of Currie-Gregg’s function in assembling the primary two items of the Worldwide House Station, Sanzone stated she was the most effective of the most effective. 

“She was like, professional at it. You realize, if you need any individual to do it proper, get Nancy,” Sanzone stated.

David Hamilton, the now-retired former chief engineer on the NASA Engineering and Security Middle, stated Currie-Gregg has all the time been very skilled and personable, and her achievements are to not be taken flippantly.

“I simply maintain her in such excessive regard, you understand, she’s only a very succesful individual,” Hamilton stated. “Anyone that’s from Ohio State, you should be pleased with alumni like that. I imply, simply getting chosen for the astronaut corps is a very large deal.”

Currie-Gregg stated anybody hoping to comply with the same profession parth shouldn’t be deterred and to “comply with your desires.”

“I had folks that have been pretty near me inform me I used to be chasing a pipe dream and also you simply can’t hearken to that,” Currie-Gregg stated. “As a result of should you by no means apply and also you by no means strive, then you definitely’ll by no means obtain it.”