Even when confined to a chamber, Fred Smith finds the possibilities at NASA limitless
2014-02-25
For Black History Month, Johnson Space Center is honoring a few African-American employees whose culture and history have helped shaped them into the people they are today.
Fred Smith has certainly had many stellar experiences throughout his career at JSC. From flying in reduced-gravity aircraft five times to shadowing NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, to living in a 20-foot chamber for 60 days as a test subject to managing a future spacecraft technology now being tested on the International Space Station, JSC’s deputy branch chief of the Crew and Thermal Systems Division Design and Analysis Branch has certainly had a full and productive 23 years at the center.
However, the path that brought him to NASA didn’t always look promising.
“I wanted to be a basketball player up until fifth grade, and then in sixth grade I wanted to be an astronaut,” Smith said.
He went to the University of Kansas to study aeronautical engineering and start his course to working at NASA. However, he lost connection with that goal and ended up changing his major and earning a degree in psychology.
Fate intervened when a friend connected him with NASA and he learned about the astronaut selection process. He decided to continue taking classes, but he started his second degree—this time in mechanical engineering at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. He was connected with JSC’s cooperative education (co-op) program director and took a huge step toward his goal of working at NASA by starting his career as a NASA co-op.
After graduating, he accepted a full-time offer working with life-support systems and advanced technology development, where he spent most of his career.
NASA has provided Smith with many different opportunities, and that is one of things he likes most about his job. A highlight of his career was living in a 20-foot chamber in JSC’s Building 7 for 60 days as part of a lunar and Mars life-support test project. He was also one of four crew members chosen to participate in a study to test water recovery by simulating the International Space Station’s regenerative life-support system. This was the first time that this system, which is now critical on the space station, was tested in this manner with humans in the loop. When asked if it was hard to stay in such a confined space for 60 days, Smith said, “No, you get focused with the mission and the time goes by fast. It seems like your world expands inside the chamber. I did not get bored. I took several books but did not end up reading them.”
Smith said that the project tied in nicely with his psychology degree, as they were expected to take psychological surveys regularly and study their food and exercise in addition to water recovery.
Another project Smith has been highly involved in is Carbon Dioxide and Moisture Removal Amine Swingbed (CAMRAS). It was first created for Orion to provide breathable air for a human-rated spacecraft design. The project is still ongoing, and CAMRAS has made it from Smith’s team all the way to low-Earth orbit for testing on station.
CAMRAS consists of multiple layers of amine-based filter beds to remove carbon dioxide and moisture from the station’s or spacecraft environment. After reaching its full absorption capacity, the assembly rotates to emit the carbon dioxide and moisture into space, after which it can rotate back toward the interior and continue filtration. The cycle facilitates uninterrupted carbon dioxide removal.
Being a mentor to students and spreading NASA and his story through outreach is another important part of Smith’s career. He has been a mentor for High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) for 10 years. In fact, Smith met his wife when they were both mentoring students as a part of HAS.
He was also involved in the JASON Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to inspire and educate kids everywhere through real science and exploration.”
In 2000, the organization collaborated with JSC to host a series of live interactive broadcasts for the project named, “Going to Extremes.” The project explored two platforms, one in space and one underwater, that enables humans to go beyond their physical limitations to explore the unknown and ask the question, “Why?”
Smith said that project really benefitted him because it helped him to “see the excitement through the student’s eyes and realize that what we do is motivating in itself. Sometimes we forget that we are building things that fly in space. Telling students about it really brings it back to life.”
As a member of the African-American Employee Resource Group (ERG), Smith has done outreach and participated in several events.
“The ERGs are perfect for recruitment and retention,” Smith said. “They give an avenue for folks to give input on how you might improve things at JSC.”
When asked about what drives him as a manager, Smith said, “One thing that really drives me is the thought of advancing our capability. Also, giving our folks the experiences they need to become experts in their areas. How do we get them more hands-on experience? In keeping with JSC 2.0, how can we do things more efficiently? Ultimately, it is about the people and making sure they are enjoying what they are doing.”
As an engineer, one of Smith’s big frustrations is the paradigm shift.
“With the freedom of JSC 2.0, let’s not worry about waiting for the funding—let’s see what we can do to be efficient and improve,” Smith said. “Go ahead and do it. Get the hands-on experience, and then build upon that experience for a specific mission. We can work on technologies that we think can benefit us. We can’t afford to wait.”
Another growth experience for Smith came through participating in the Mid-Level Leader Program, where Smith had the opportunity shadow some of NASA’s most senior leaders: Administrator Charlie Bolden, Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot and Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Greg Williams.
Smith also completed a rotation in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, which gave him the chance to learn the business side of things and prepare him for management.
To top it off, Smith is a five-time veteran of reduced-gravity flights. He flew on a NASA research flight where he tested a tank to store water, and also serve as a radiation shield.
When Smith is not living in chambers or riding zero-gravity aircraft, his 4-year-old son Caleb keeps him busy and on the move.
Fred Smith has certainly had many stellar experiences throughout his career at JSC. From flying in reduced-gravity aircraft five times to shadowing NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, to living in a 20-foot chamber for 60 days as a test subject to managing a future spacecraft technology now being tested on the International Space Station, JSC’s deputy branch chief of the Crew and Thermal Systems Division Design and Analysis Branch has certainly had a full and productive 23 years at the center.
However, the path that brought him to NASA didn’t always look promising.
“I wanted to be a basketball player up until fifth grade, and then in sixth grade I wanted to be an astronaut,” Smith said.
He went to the University of Kansas to study aeronautical engineering and start his course to working at NASA. However, he lost connection with that goal and ended up changing his major and earning a degree in psychology.
Fate intervened when a friend connected him with NASA and he learned about the astronaut selection process. He decided to continue taking classes, but he started his second degree—this time in mechanical engineering at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. He was connected with JSC’s cooperative education (co-op) program director and took a huge step toward his goal of working at NASA by starting his career as a NASA co-op.
After graduating, he accepted a full-time offer working with life-support systems and advanced technology development, where he spent most of his career.
NASA has provided Smith with many different opportunities, and that is one of things he likes most about his job. A highlight of his career was living in a 20-foot chamber in JSC’s Building 7 for 60 days as part of a lunar and Mars life-support test project. He was also one of four crew members chosen to participate in a study to test water recovery by simulating the International Space Station’s regenerative life-support system. This was the first time that this system, which is now critical on the space station, was tested in this manner with humans in the loop. When asked if it was hard to stay in such a confined space for 60 days, Smith said, “No, you get focused with the mission and the time goes by fast. It seems like your world expands inside the chamber. I did not get bored. I took several books but did not end up reading them.”
Smith said that the project tied in nicely with his psychology degree, as they were expected to take psychological surveys regularly and study their food and exercise in addition to water recovery.
Another project Smith has been highly involved in is Carbon Dioxide and Moisture Removal Amine Swingbed (CAMRAS). It was first created for Orion to provide breathable air for a human-rated spacecraft design. The project is still ongoing, and CAMRAS has made it from Smith’s team all the way to low-Earth orbit for testing on station.
CAMRAS consists of multiple layers of amine-based filter beds to remove carbon dioxide and moisture from the station’s or spacecraft environment. After reaching its full absorption capacity, the assembly rotates to emit the carbon dioxide and moisture into space, after which it can rotate back toward the interior and continue filtration. The cycle facilitates uninterrupted carbon dioxide removal.
Being a mentor to students and spreading NASA and his story through outreach is another important part of Smith’s career. He has been a mentor for High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) for 10 years. In fact, Smith met his wife when they were both mentoring students as a part of HAS.
He was also involved in the JASON Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to inspire and educate kids everywhere through real science and exploration.”
In 2000, the organization collaborated with JSC to host a series of live interactive broadcasts for the project named, “Going to Extremes.” The project explored two platforms, one in space and one underwater, that enables humans to go beyond their physical limitations to explore the unknown and ask the question, “Why?”
Smith said that project really benefitted him because it helped him to “see the excitement through the student’s eyes and realize that what we do is motivating in itself. Sometimes we forget that we are building things that fly in space. Telling students about it really brings it back to life.”
As a member of the African-American Employee Resource Group (ERG), Smith has done outreach and participated in several events.
“The ERGs are perfect for recruitment and retention,” Smith said. “They give an avenue for folks to give input on how you might improve things at JSC.”
When asked about what drives him as a manager, Smith said, “One thing that really drives me is the thought of advancing our capability. Also, giving our folks the experiences they need to become experts in their areas. How do we get them more hands-on experience? In keeping with JSC 2.0, how can we do things more efficiently? Ultimately, it is about the people and making sure they are enjoying what they are doing.”
As an engineer, one of Smith’s big frustrations is the paradigm shift.
“With the freedom of JSC 2.0, let’s not worry about waiting for the funding—let’s see what we can do to be efficient and improve,” Smith said. “Go ahead and do it. Get the hands-on experience, and then build upon that experience for a specific mission. We can work on technologies that we think can benefit us. We can’t afford to wait.”
Another growth experience for Smith came through participating in the Mid-Level Leader Program, where Smith had the opportunity shadow some of NASA’s most senior leaders: Administrator Charlie Bolden, Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot and Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Greg Williams.
Smith also completed a rotation in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, which gave him the chance to learn the business side of things and prepare him for management.
To top it off, Smith is a five-time veteran of reduced-gravity flights. He flew on a NASA research flight where he tested a tank to store water, and also serve as a radiation shield.
When Smith is not living in chambers or riding zero-gravity aircraft, his 4-year-old son Caleb keeps him busy and on the move.