The People of Johnson: Meet Keith Tischler, Gateway Systems Safety Engineer

Dozens of systems must work together safely to ensure the Gateway space station’s smooth operation and the health of its crew when it takes shape around the Moon.

Enter Keith Tischler and the Gateway Integrated Hazard Analysis (IHA) team. Situated within Gateway Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA), the IHA team is responsible for identifying safety hazards that could affect Gateway’s operations or the crew members who will live and work inside of it. The team then collaborates with program staff, partners, and private companies to ensure a control mechanism is implemented to reduce the risk posed by each hazard.

Tischler’s work focuses on Gateway’s propulsion, pyrotechnic, and docking systems, as well as the refueling subsystem. He occasionally works on the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). He said having in-depth knowledge about each system’s design and how it interacts with other systems and subsystems across Gateway’s different modules is critical to his work. “One of the most valuable contributions I can make is to help identify where hazards may arise at the nexus of different systems,” he said. “For instance, docking-related hazards have the potential to impact refueling, and pyrotechnic hazards could impact propulsion.” He added, “Working multiple areas is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.”

Tischler was passionate about space and aviation from a young age – building model planes, collecting spaceflight paraphernalia, and even pursuing a private pilot’s license as he got older. He was also fascinated by mechanical systems and considered studying engineering in college. He settled on geology instead, attracted by the field’s multidisciplinary nature.

His background in geology may seem unusual for a systems engineer, but Tischler found a link between his early-career experiences and a job at NASA with the help of a former colleague. “The connection came about through my work identifying sources of contamination, contaminant pathways, and methods to control and clean up contamination,” he said, explaining that most of that work dealt with water quality. Tischler’s friend was working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and encouraged him to apply for a position with the Human Exploration and Development of Space Independent Assessment (IA) of the International Space Station in 1998. Tischler was hired to help evaluate the space station’s ECLSS, which provides clean air and water to the crew. “That was good fortune and timing as I was not coming from the same background as the typical applicant,” he said.

One of Tischler’s standout NASA experiences occurred during this two-year post. The IA team had to evaluate a water quality monitor proposed for the orbiting laboratory. The team’s input was expected to impact not just that critical system’s design, but also future systems and operations. “The project was interesting and rewarding on many levels,” he said. “We were given a lot of responsibility and latitude to evaluate the system and make recommendations for mitigating identified risks. And I was able to apply techniques from my geology background.”

After the IA concluded in 2000, Tischler returned to Austin, his hometown. He spent the next 14 years working in environmental consulting and natural resource damage mitigation, starting a family, and completing a geosciences doctoral program at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi. He briefly rejoined the Johnson team in 2014 as senior SMA engineer with SAIC supporting the Flight Safety Office, but the commute from Austin and telework limitations were taxing. Post-COVID improvements in remote work capabilities helped entice Tischler back to Johnson in 2021 in his current position. “It has been interesting, rewarding, and an open-ended opportunity to learn and apply new skills throughout this journey,” he said.

Thinking about actions and attributes that lead to professional success, Tischler stressed the importance of sharing information with colleagues working on areas that overlap with yours and being open to learning new things . This helps to create a deeper understanding and big-picture perspective of how different systems and programs work together. Knowledge-sharing may also help shorten early-career teammates’ learning curve.

Tischler also advised thinking creatively about how skills and processes from seemingly unrelated disciplines can be applied to your work. “For example, doing extensive environmental or geologic field work requires careful planning to ensure you have everything you may need in the field to collect  data, and walking through the event mentally helps make sure nothing is left behind,” he said. “That general approach can also help with visualizing system or hardware usage and mission scenarios.”

He encouraged similar out-of-the-box thinking for anyone aspiring to a NASA career. “Don’t limit yourself to a specific path to getting there,” he said. “Pick a discipline that interests you, see where it might fit, then build on that. You will spend a lot of time and effort in the area you choose to work in, and it should be interesting to you.” Whatever field someone selects, Tischler recommends gaining at least a general understanding of engineering because it has both personal and professional benefits. “It’s nice to have a clue about how things work. Bonus if you can repair them,” he said.

Tischler said he looks forward to a future where humanity has a permanent presence on both the Moon and Mars and space exploration has been opened to broader, multidiscipline participation. “This should multiply the benefits back on Earth, directly and indirectly,” he said. He is also optimistic about human space exploration beyond the inner solar system and eventually outside of our solar system, believing that reaching those destinations is not unrealistic.

Tischler observed that the Artemis Generation will achieve things we are just beginning to think through. While they are “making the big picture,” they must approach each task as part of the whole, he said, and remember that spaceflight is ultimately a human endeavor. “The human desire simply to explore and learn should be recognized as part of our vision for the future.”