Systems Engineering Seminar

Engineering at NASA HQ

Presented by:
Dr. Tupper Hyde, Chief of the Mission Engineering and Systems Analysis (MESA) Division

Tuesday, February 10, 2015, 1:00 pm
Building 3 Auditorium

Abstract:

I served as the Chief Engineer for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA HQ for two plus years and have recently returned to Goddard. I thought the SE interest community at Goddard would be intrigued about what an engineer does at headquarters (hint: it's not really engineering). This talk will highlight how the engineering and reporting you do in projects makes it's way to and through headquarters. There will be a bit on how the Office of the Chief Engineer supports the mission directorates and how projects are approved through the life cycle to launch and operations. And of course, there are always fire drills where technical risk needs to be clarified for management in a HQ cost-risk decision. Bring your questions…I'm sure there's things you've always wondered about how HQ works.

Biography:

Dr. Tupper Hyde is the Chief of the Mission Engineering and Systems Analysis (MESA) Division at Goddard Space Flight Center's Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate (AETD). The MESA Division provides leadership and expertise in mission systems engineering, payload and instrument system engineering, mission design, navigation, propulsion, attitude control, GN&C sensor and actuator technologies, and space systems protection through the entire life cycle of NASA's science and exploration missions. Prior to that, Tupper was the Chief Engineer of the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA HQ. Here he was the technical conscience for the 97 missions SMD has in formulation, development, and operation. He advised the NASA Associate Administrator for Science and the Agency’s Chief Engineer on mission technical readiness and program and project management compliance. Prior to his NASA Headquarters assignment, Tupper was the Associate Chief of the MESA Division and before that, the Chief Technologist of AETD. His engineering assignments at GSFC included the Mission System Engineer for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) project and the Guidance Navigation and Control Lead for the LISA and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) missions. Prior to joining NASA in 2002, he gained private sector leadership experience as the Manager of Advanced Technology for Honeywell Space Systems where he led multiple development teams responsible for the pointing and vibration control for payloads and observatories for National security space programs. Tupper is also a Lieutenant Colonel and Space Intelligence Officer in the Army reserves. He hold 10 patents in the fields of guidance, navigation and control, momentum control, dynamics testing, and vibration control. Tupper has received several NASA, military, and intelligence community awards including the Robert H. Goddard Exceptional Achievement Award for Leadership.