Station Nation: Meet Dina Contella!
From flight director to the Gateway program — and now as the International Space Station (ISS) program’s operations integration manager — learn about Dina Contella’s 31-year NASA career that began during college with the agency’s co-op education program.
Where are you from?
Austin, Texas.
Which ISS office do you support?
The ISS Program Office.
What is your job title?
ISS program operations integration manager.
Describe what your position entails:
The program operations integration manager is responsible for the overall management and integration of ISS program operations elements, with primary focus on supporting the performance of real-time and near-real-time missions.
I will chair the ISS Mission Management Team (IMMT) and report to the ISS program manager. As IMMT chairman, I'll work with the international partners, with multiple NASA centers, across ISS and technical organizations, with commercial organizations and partners, and with the flight directors to ensure ISS carries out its scientific, technology, diplomatic, and educational purpose.
How would you describe your job to family or friends who may not be as familiar with NASA as employees reading this?
Working for the manager of the ISS program, I will lead a team of many organizations that, together, ensure the ISS is operating safely and efficiently to carry out the program’s goals. I’ll often be in the Mission Control Center building, leading meetings and providing direction on behalf of the ISS program.
How long have you been working for the agency?
Thirty-one years!
What was your path to NASA?
Starting in high school, I became very interested in human spaceflight and realized that I wanted to work for NASA. I attended Texas A&M University and studied aerospace engineering. While there, I was hired into the co-operative education program (alternating semesters of school and work).
Is there a space figure you’ve looked up to? Or someone you discovered while working for NASA who inspires you?
I was in high school when the Space Shuttle Challenger accident occurred. I was deeply moved after the accident to see the tight bond that the NASA family had in reaction to this huge loss. This incident caused me to start following human spaceflight and inspired me to strive to be part of the NASA family. Since I've been here, I've been inspired over and over again — by so many incredible people! I often brag about my father-in-law, Milt Contella, who worked here at NASA’s Johnson Space Center during many human spaceflight programs since the early NASA days, including Apollo. He was a rendezvous specialist; and, back in those days, he was essentially one of a handful of folks to INVENT rendezvous in space. To this day, he can derive calculus equations from memory with pencil and paper.
What are you most looking forward to in your new role?
I am excited about two aspects of my new position. First, I'll be part of the ISS program team, which is a talented group of leaders managing a world-class research laboratory in space. I am excited to see “under the hood” into how they do it. I'm also excited to work with the team of leaders over in mission control that bring the various aspects of the mission together for execution. There are a lot of key players, including the international partners, flight directors, research teams, visiting vehicle teams, safety, and engineering.
What is your favorite NASA memory?
What do you love sharing about station to general audiences?
I like to point out the critical role that the space station plays in our eventual long-term exploration of other places like the Moon and Mars. For example, in order to help make a long-duration trip successful, we need to first test upgraded technologies that can recycle water while we still have close access to Earth for spare parts, and we need to study what we can do to keep astronauts healthy in space before we send them too far away.
Contella hangs the STS-120 shuttle mission plaque in Building 30 Flight Control Room-1, or FCR-1.
What are your hobbies? Things you enjoy doing outside of work?
I enjoy spending time with family and friends, and I like to scuba dive and snow ski.
Day launch or night launch?
Night.
Favorite space movie?
“Apollo 13.” The flight control team will not let failure be an option ...
NASA Worm or Meatball logo?
Keep up-to-date with the latest news from the International Space Station by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, and the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
