Carolyn Fritz makes a splash during her NASA career
2015-03-26
For Women’s History Month, Johnson Space Center is honoring a few women employees whose character, courage and commitment have helped shape them into the people they are today.
For Carolyn Fritz, the first inclination toward a NASA career started when she was in third grade and visited Johnson Space Center on a field trip. During the field trip, there was a speaker at the Historic Mission Control Center that told the class to study math and science—and one day they may work for NASA.
“Those words that were spoken really inspired me, and it was embodied in my mind,” Fritz said.
Fritz works as a senior project manager in the Software, Robotics and Simulation Division at JSC, and has now spent 33 years in federal service.
She grew up in the inner city of Houston as one of 13 siblings. Her parents instilled in her the value of education and the necessity of being a team player.
“Your attitude determines your altitude,” Fritz said.
Starting out as an engineering co-op student in Arlington Virginia at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Fritz was responsible for laying out crew quarter accommodations, as well as sizing diesel engines for aircraft carriers. She was eventually hired full time as an engineer in training, and was sent on a one-year detail from NAVSEA to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, where she was responsible for the overhaul of life support systems on nuclear submarines.
“I ended up spending several years there, and it was truly an amazing experience to be able to crawl through the confined spaces on the submarines while installing the life support systems,” Fritz said.
After the space shuttle Challenger disaster, Fritz knew right away she wanted to work for NASA and offer her skills to support the Space Shuttle Program (SSP). She joined JSC in 1990, working in the previous Space and Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) at the Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) as a test director and robotic subsystem manager. To Fritz’s surprise, the test director position that included directing a test team underwater to support astronaut training and hardware development also came with demanding physical requirements, including SCUBA diver certification. This would eventually lead her to donning the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) to experience the physiological constraints of maneuvering underwater in a pressurized spacesuit. Fritz set the goal to succeed in those demanding physical challenges and, after learning to swim and SCUBA dive, that was enough to push her toward future excellence.
“Growing up in a large family taught me to be competitive by nature and to never, ever give up,” Fritz said. “If you put your mind to it, you can do it.”
And that is exactly what she did. As the WETF transitioned to the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) and from the SLSD to the Mission Operations Directorate in the late ’90s, Fritz continued her work as an NBL test director. She also managed the design for numerous International Space Station (ISS) mock-ups for use in astronaut training, and would dive often to inspect the mock-ups prior to astronauts use. She was also assigned as the project manager for delivery of a new underwater ISS Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to support robotics crew training operations. This was a challenge with a tight budget and firm schedule, but Fritz took it on and was very successful in completing the project on schedule and within cost. It is still in use at the NBL today. She was awarded the coveted Silver Snoopy Award for her work, which was presented by late astronaut Laurel Clark.
After completing the SSRMS project, Fritz transitioned to the Engineering Directorate, where she began managing the operations of robotic test and training facilities inside Building 9. The culture was quite different in Engineering, where Fritz became directly responsible for design, development, testing and operations of robotics systems in support of the SSP and ISS Program. Expectations were high.
Fritz recalls many days where she was required to make the argument that the design requirements were representative of training, or test, needs. One of her most respected leaders would often say, “Communication is our most difficult task.” Because of her tenacity and competitive edge, she was able to demonstrate to her management and center leadership that her assigned project progress and forward plans were on target.
Fritz continued to blaze trails after she was promoted to deputy branch chief in the Dynamic Systems Test Branch, where she worked for eight years leading teams, projects and budgets in the development and management of high-fidelity robotic test, verification and evaluation equipment and facilities. As Fritz continued onward with a leadership development opportunity in the Mid-Level Leadership Program (MLLP), she was introduced the subject of inclusion in the workplace and how it would lead to greater innovations. A spark was lit.
“This subject was very engaging, and it created a paradigm shift in the way I would think about people who were different than me,” Fritz said.
The MLLP afforded Fritz the opportunity to rotate through different organizations at JSC, from Human Resources (HR) to the NASA Headquarters Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, and eventually led to a full-time position in the HR Office for about three years.
“It was an excellent broadening experience in my career and provided excellent tools to add to my leadership roles and responsibilities,” Fritz said.
Fritz has since returned to her roots in the Engineering Directorate and is working hard to bring in new business to her branch.
“I want to make this a better and more exciting and fun place to work for everyone,” Fritz said.
During her rotational assignments, she was able to develop many new relationships across the center and agency, which positioned her to be more effective in developing partnerships and collaborations within NASA and with industry partners.
“Building positive work relationships can increase productivity,” Fritz said. She capitalizes on this leadership tenet when focused on acquiring innovative business solutions in support of future exploration missions using the facility assets within her branch.
Fritz is a mentor to many within and outside her organization, as well as in her community. She is most proud that both her daughters have chosen science, technology, engineering and math careers. One has become a medical doctor, and the other is pursuing a mechanical engineering degree like her mom.
Future goals for Fritz include infusing all that she has learned in the past 33 years into her current and future roles.
“I have so much to give back, and I look forward to every opportunity to do just that on a daily basis,” Fritz said. “I want to help others to learn from my experiences early in their careers in order to be effective, focused, and a trailblazer in their own rights.”
Anna Seils
NASA Johnson Space Center
For Carolyn Fritz, the first inclination toward a NASA career started when she was in third grade and visited Johnson Space Center on a field trip. During the field trip, there was a speaker at the Historic Mission Control Center that told the class to study math and science—and one day they may work for NASA.
“Those words that were spoken really inspired me, and it was embodied in my mind,” Fritz said.
Fritz works as a senior project manager in the Software, Robotics and Simulation Division at JSC, and has now spent 33 years in federal service.
She grew up in the inner city of Houston as one of 13 siblings. Her parents instilled in her the value of education and the necessity of being a team player.
“Your attitude determines your altitude,” Fritz said.
Starting out as an engineering co-op student in Arlington Virginia at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Fritz was responsible for laying out crew quarter accommodations, as well as sizing diesel engines for aircraft carriers. She was eventually hired full time as an engineer in training, and was sent on a one-year detail from NAVSEA to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, where she was responsible for the overhaul of life support systems on nuclear submarines.
“I ended up spending several years there, and it was truly an amazing experience to be able to crawl through the confined spaces on the submarines while installing the life support systems,” Fritz said.
After the space shuttle Challenger disaster, Fritz knew right away she wanted to work for NASA and offer her skills to support the Space Shuttle Program (SSP). She joined JSC in 1990, working in the previous Space and Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) at the Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) as a test director and robotic subsystem manager. To Fritz’s surprise, the test director position that included directing a test team underwater to support astronaut training and hardware development also came with demanding physical requirements, including SCUBA diver certification. This would eventually lead her to donning the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) to experience the physiological constraints of maneuvering underwater in a pressurized spacesuit. Fritz set the goal to succeed in those demanding physical challenges and, after learning to swim and SCUBA dive, that was enough to push her toward future excellence.
“Growing up in a large family taught me to be competitive by nature and to never, ever give up,” Fritz said. “If you put your mind to it, you can do it.”
And that is exactly what she did. As the WETF transitioned to the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) and from the SLSD to the Mission Operations Directorate in the late ’90s, Fritz continued her work as an NBL test director. She also managed the design for numerous International Space Station (ISS) mock-ups for use in astronaut training, and would dive often to inspect the mock-ups prior to astronauts use. She was also assigned as the project manager for delivery of a new underwater ISS Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to support robotics crew training operations. This was a challenge with a tight budget and firm schedule, but Fritz took it on and was very successful in completing the project on schedule and within cost. It is still in use at the NBL today. She was awarded the coveted Silver Snoopy Award for her work, which was presented by late astronaut Laurel Clark.
After completing the SSRMS project, Fritz transitioned to the Engineering Directorate, where she began managing the operations of robotic test and training facilities inside Building 9. The culture was quite different in Engineering, where Fritz became directly responsible for design, development, testing and operations of robotics systems in support of the SSP and ISS Program. Expectations were high.
Fritz recalls many days where she was required to make the argument that the design requirements were representative of training, or test, needs. One of her most respected leaders would often say, “Communication is our most difficult task.” Because of her tenacity and competitive edge, she was able to demonstrate to her management and center leadership that her assigned project progress and forward plans were on target.
Fritz continued to blaze trails after she was promoted to deputy branch chief in the Dynamic Systems Test Branch, where she worked for eight years leading teams, projects and budgets in the development and management of high-fidelity robotic test, verification and evaluation equipment and facilities. As Fritz continued onward with a leadership development opportunity in the Mid-Level Leadership Program (MLLP), she was introduced the subject of inclusion in the workplace and how it would lead to greater innovations. A spark was lit.
“This subject was very engaging, and it created a paradigm shift in the way I would think about people who were different than me,” Fritz said.
The MLLP afforded Fritz the opportunity to rotate through different organizations at JSC, from Human Resources (HR) to the NASA Headquarters Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, and eventually led to a full-time position in the HR Office for about three years.
“It was an excellent broadening experience in my career and provided excellent tools to add to my leadership roles and responsibilities,” Fritz said.
Fritz has since returned to her roots in the Engineering Directorate and is working hard to bring in new business to her branch.
“I want to make this a better and more exciting and fun place to work for everyone,” Fritz said.
During her rotational assignments, she was able to develop many new relationships across the center and agency, which positioned her to be more effective in developing partnerships and collaborations within NASA and with industry partners.
“Building positive work relationships can increase productivity,” Fritz said. She capitalizes on this leadership tenet when focused on acquiring innovative business solutions in support of future exploration missions using the facility assets within her branch.
Fritz is a mentor to many within and outside her organization, as well as in her community. She is most proud that both her daughters have chosen science, technology, engineering and math careers. One has become a medical doctor, and the other is pursuing a mechanical engineering degree like her mom.
Future goals for Fritz include infusing all that she has learned in the past 33 years into her current and future roles.
“I have so much to give back, and I look forward to every opportunity to do just that on a daily basis,” Fritz said. “I want to help others to learn from my experiences early in their careers in order to be effective, focused, and a trailblazer in their own rights.”
Anna Seils
NASA Johnson Space Center