RoundupReads Q&A with Gateway: Meet James ‘Jim’ Scheib, Spacecraft Configuration Management Lead for Gateway Program

Q&A with Gateway: Meet James ‘Jim’ Scheib, Spacecraft Configuration Management Lead for Gateway Program

2021-01-21

The Gateway is designed to evolve with changing mission needs. It will offer power and propulsion capabilities, habitation space, an airlock capability to enable spacewalks, communications with both the Earth and lunar assets, a robotic arm for external robotics, docking port availability, and logistics modules for resupply. As the lead for the spacecraft configuration management team, Jim Scheib is responsible for managing the Gateway architecture as it evolves with each Artemis mission. He is based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and works under the Gateway Systems Engineering and Integration Office (SE&I). 

Let’s get to know more about him, below! 

What is your role in the Gateway program?
I lead the spacecraft configuration management team under the Gateway SE&I Office. 

What are your primary responsibilities?
My primary function is to manage the Gateway spacecraft configuration as it evolves. Key products include managing the integrated Gateway CAD (computer-aided design) models and mass properties that are collected from the Gateway elements and other exploration programs. It also includes developing the Gateway reference manifest that defines the Gateway configurations associated with each Artemis mission. These products are key in Gateway level integrated performance analyses used to validate the Gateway’s ability to meet its exploration requirements.

What are you excited to share about Gateway and what it will do for human exploration as part of the Artemis program?
I do believe that Gateway is vital for returning to and sustaining a long-term human presence on the Moon, as well as a staging point for Mars and other destinations beyond the Moon. Gateway, in near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), provides an outpost where landers, logistics vehicles, and Orion can aggregate in preparation for lunar sorties, or for larger vehicles destined for Mars. 

How has your own personal background influenced your work on the Gateway program?
Throughout my career I have been lucky to be involved in multiple programs, from their inception to implementation: first, as a contractor for McDonnel Douglas on Space Station Alpha in the early ‘80s, followed by a move to Johnson when the International Space Station program was established in Houston; and, finally, getting an opportunity to join the crew exploration vehicle request for proposals team at headquarters as Orion was being formulated. These experiences with startup programs have been invaluable in this exciting stage of Gateway.

Being surrounded by such a high-performing group of people, what’s a great piece of advice you’ve learned?
Don’t be intimidated by the amazing brilliance of your co-workers. Go with it, enjoy being around it, and don’t be afraid to tap into it for help. 

In line with JSC’s DARE | UNITE | EXPLORE, how do you see yourself fitting into the vision?
The Johnson vision is what brought me to Houston, Texas. Being part of expanding our presence into the solar system is the goal. 

Now, more about you. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Pleasanton near San Francisco, California.

How long have you been at JSC?
I moved here in 1994, so 26 years.

What is your New Year’s resolution?
Get back to working on-site (more of a hope than a resolution). 

Favorite thing(s) to do to unwind:
I like to go for a run, meet friends socially (preferably outside), and have family game nights.

How has the pandemic shaped your working style?
I really miss the face-to-face time at work. Chatting on Teams is a poor substitute for walking to the next office/building or spending that five minutes before or after a meeting catching up on work or life. 

Tell us a fun fact about you.
I am an Air Force brat, born in Anchorage, Alaska.

 

At Johnson, we are laser-focused on the next: going forward to our lunar neighbor to build outposts in uncharted territory while revolutionizing the strategies and technologies that will eventually open up the universe. The Gateway is a critical component of the Artemis program and embodies Johnson's DARE | UNITE | EXPLORE vision: We dare to expand frontiers. We unite with our partners to complete bold missions. We explore space to benefit humanity.

DARE | UNITE | EXPLORE

 

Meet Jim Scheib, spacecraft configuration management lead for the Gateway program. Image courtesy of Jim Scheib