From Service to Space Systems: A Pathways Journey to NASA

For Corey Elmore, the path to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center did not begin in engineering. It began in service.

Today he serves as a NASA Pathways engineering intern in the Technical Processes and Tools Branch (KSC-NE-TA) at Kennedy Space Center. Through the Pathways program, he is gaining hands-on experience supporting the engineering environments, technical tools and processes that help NASA teams design, analyze, and operate complex mission systems.

Within the branch, his work explores how artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation can enhance engineering workflows. As modern missions generate massive amounts of data across interconnected systems, these tools help engineers organize information, improve analysis, and make faster decisions.

By studying how intelligent systems can support engineers, he hopes to help teams focus more deeply on solving the technical challenges that enable exploration.

«What excites me most about being at NASA is the chance to work on problems that are bigger than any one person. In a place like this, even small improvements in how we think, build, or support engineers can ripple outward into missions that push exploration forward.»

Corey Elmore

NASA Pathways Intern

The Pathways program provides students the opportunity to work alongside experienced engineers while contributing to real projects across NASA centers. At Kennedy Space Center, the experience offers a front-row view of how large-scale technical systems come together, from engineering processes and technical documentation to the collaborative teams responsible for supporting mission operations.

Mentorship and collaboration have been central to the experience. Working with engineers across multiple disciplines has reinforced the importance of systems thinking: understanding how people, processes, and technology interact within complex mission environments.

His path to NASA, however, did not begin in engineering. Before entering the STEM field, he served in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman supporting Marine Corps and Navy units. During that time, he also served as an instructor working with Navy Seabees, helping train and mentor service members in mission-critical skills.

That role required breaking down complex information, leading under pressure, and ensuring others could perform effectively in demanding environments. These skills translate naturally into engineering problem solving.

My transition from military service to NASA has shown me that purpose does not end when the uniform comes off. The setting changes, the tools change, but the deeper mission remains: Serving something larger than yourself.

Corey Elmore

NASA Pathways Intern

Following military service, the next chapter unfolded in the defense and shipbuilding industry, supporting naval maintenance and logistics systems connected to fleet readiness. Working in shipbuilding environments provided firsthand exposure to the scale and coordination required to sustain complex operational platforms.

Maintaining ships at sea and preparing spacecraft for launch share a common challenge. Both depend on integrating engineering disciplines, operational processes, and reliable technology into a cohesive system.

While building professional experience, he continued pursuing higher education. During his time in the Navy, he earned a bachelor’s degree in supply chain and operations management from Western Governors University. Today, he is continuing his studies while working at NASA, pursuing both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science with a focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Combining operational experience, systems thinking, and emerging technologies is helping shape a foundation aligned with the increasingly complex challenges of modern space exploration.

Equally meaningful has been the community at Kennedy Space Center. Through the Pathways program, interns work alongside experienced mentors and engineering teams across NASA, creating an environment where curiosity, learning, and collaboration drive growth.

For this Navy veteran, the opportunity represents more than a career milestone; it represents a continuation of service.

For those transitioning from military careers, the path into engineering and exploration may look different, but the mission often feels familiar. Programs like NASA Pathways provide veterans the chance to bring their discipline, leadership, and operational experience into fields that support the next generation of discovery.

As his journey at Kennedy Space Center continues, he remains focused on contributing to the systems and technologies that will help enable the future of human exploration.

For more information about the Pathways program, visit nasa.gov/careers/pathways.

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Dan Levy

Wave of Dust Rolls Through Texas

The Ides of March brought perilous weather to West Texas and the state’s Panhandle. A strong cold front blasted south across the arid plains on March 15, 2026, bringing stiff winds that stirred up a curtain of dust. The cloud of suspended particles slashed visibility and made for treacherous travel as it swept across the region. The high winds, coupled with dry conditions, also raised the risk of wildland fires.

The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of blowing dust on its march across Texas at about 4:45 p.m. Central Time (21:45 Universal Time) on March 15. An image acquired by the Terra satellite about 5 hours earlier shows the wall of dust when it was approximately 150 miles (240 kilometers) to the northeast.

Footage captured by a storm chaser shows visibility plummeting to nearly zero as the dense plume passed; similar conditions contributed to a multivehicle crash in North Texas. The National Weather Service also issued a Red Flag Warning for March 15 due to the combination of high winds, low relative humidity, and dry fuels. Several wildland fires ignited in the Panhandle, prompting evacuations, according to news reports.

Weather conditions took a sharp turn with the cold front’s passage. A weather station in Pecos recorded a high of 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celsius) at 4:30 p.m. local time on March 15, around the time of this image. Temperatures then dropped abruptly, hitting a low of 39ºF (4ºC) around 6 a.m. the next morning. Pecos saw sustained winds of about 25 miles (40 kilometers) per hour with gusts up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour on March 15. Several stations in the Panhandle clocked gusts over 60 miles (97 kilometers) per hour. 

Much of northern and western Texas has been experiencing moderate or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Though dust storms are typical in the region this time of year, the lack of rain parches vegetation, dries the land, and increases the area’s susceptibility to these events.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

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March 15, 2026

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References & Resources

• Amarillo Globe-News (2026, March 16) Video of wildfires, dust storms forcing evacuations in Texas Panhandle. Accessed March 17, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2025, March 6) Storm Brings a Potpourri of Hazards to the U.S. Accessed March 17, 2026.
• NASA Earthdata (2026) Dust/Ash/Smoke. Accessed March 17, 2026.
• National Weather Service, Dust Storms and Haboobs. Accessed March 17, 2026.
• National Weather Service, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet (2026, March 14) Urgent – Weather Message. Accessed March 17, 2026.
• Texas Storm Chasers (2026, March 13) Texas Weather Roundup: Dangerous Fire Weather, Damaging Winds & Sharp Cold Front Sunday. Accessed March 17, 2026.

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NASA’s X-59 Prepares for Second Flight

NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft is preparing for its second flight, a step that will set the pace for more flight testing in 2026. 

Over the coming months, NASA will take the quiet supersonic jet faster and higher, while validating safety and performance, a process known as envelope expansion. 

NASA test pilot Jim “Clue” Less will be at the X-59’s controls for second flight.  Less will take off and land at Edwards Air Force Base, near the X-59’s home at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. 

“This will be the first time I’ve flown an X-plane,” Less said. “I think I’ll mostly be focused on getting the test cards done and getting them done correctly. It’ll probably sink in later that I was in the X-59.” 

Less will be accompanied by NASA test pilot Nils Larson, who will be flying nearby in a NASA F/A-18 aircraft to observe the X-59.  

The X-59 made its first flight Oct. 28, 2025, with Larson as pilot. Afterward, NASA and contractor Lockheed Martin completed an extensive round of post-flight maintenance and inspections. The work involved removing the engine, a section of the tail known as the lower empennage, the seat, and more than 70 panels to perform inspections. All have been reinstalled. 

“These guys know what they’re doing. We couldn’t do something like this without a really competent team of hardworking folks,” Less said. “Nils trusted them for the first flight. I trust them for the second flight and every flight after that.” 

The team completed one of the last ground tests before the flight on March 12 – an engine run firing up the X-59’s modified F-18 Super Hornet F414-GE-100 engine.  

“It’s always exciting to see the X-59 come to life on the ground,” said Ray Castner, NASA’s X-59 lead propulsion engineer. “For our team, it’s a moment to pause and appreciate how far this aircraft has come – and how close we are to pushing into the next phase of flight.” 

The X-59’s second flight continues the push toward that next phase, with the team closely studying the aircraft’s performance. 

“Second flight will look a lot like the first flight,” said Cathy Bahm, NASA’s project manager for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project. “We’ll start the flight at a test condition from first flight to ensure X-59 performs as expected after the maintenance phase, then we’ll start the envelope expansion by testing a little higher and faster.” 

The flight marks the start of envelope expansion tests for the X-59. After the aircraft reaches a speed of approximately 230 mph at 12,000 feet and its team performs functional checks, it will advance to 260 mph at 20,000 feet. 

First flight was the X-59’s biggest leap so far – going from the ground to airborne. Now, envelope expansion will be a gradual process as the aircraft works toward its mission parameters of about 925 mph, or Mach 1.4, at 55,000 feet. 

“From here on out, once we’re airborne, we can increase speed and increase altitude in small, measured chunks, looking at things as we go and not getting ahead of ourselves,” Less said. “Eventually we get to supersonic flight – a few more steps – and we’re out to Mach 1.4 at about 55,000 feet,” said Less. 

The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to usher in a new age of quiet, commercial supersonic flight over land. The X-59 will demonstrate that an aircraft can fly faster than the speed of sound while reducing the typical loud sonic boom to a quieter thump. 

Envelope expansion is Phase 1 of Quesst. It will be followed by Phase 2 flight testing to validate the X-59’s acoustic performance. The team will study how the aircraft’s design disperses the shock waves that typically merge into a sonic boom.  

After acoustics validation, NASA plans to fly the X-59 over selected U.S. communities to gather data on how people on the ground perceive its quieter sound signature. NASA will share the results with U.S. and international regulators.

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Dim Delights in Cancer

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Dim Delights in Cancer

Cancer the Crab is a dim constellation, yet it contains one of the most beautiful and easy-to-spot star clusters in our sky: the Beehive Cluster. Cancer also possesses one of the most studied exoplanets: the superhot super-Earth, 55 Cancri e.

Find Cancer’s dim stars by looking in between the brighter neighboring constellations of Gemini and Leo. Don’t get frustrated if you can’t find it at first, since Cancer isn’t easily visible from moderately light-polluted areas. Once you find Cancer, look for its most famous deep-sky object: the Beehive Cluster! It’s a large open cluster of young stars, three times larger than our Moon in the sky. The Beehive is visible to the unaided eye under good sky conditions as a faint, cloudy patch, but is stunning when viewed through binoculars or a wide-field telescope. It was one of the earliest deep-sky objects noticed by ancient astronomers, and so the Beehive has many other names, including Praesepe, Nubilum, M44, the Ghost, and Jishi qi. Take a look at it on a clear night through binoculars. Do these stars look like a hive of buzzing bees? Or do you see something else? There’s no wrong answer, since this large star cluster has intrigued imaginative observers for thousands of years.

55 Cancri is a nearby binary star system, about 41 light-years from us and faintly visible under excellent dark sky conditions. The larger star is orbited by at least five planets, including 55 Cancri e (a.k.a. Janssen, named after one of the first telescope makers). Janssen is a “super-earth,” a large rocky world 8 times the mass of Earth, and orbits its star every 18 hours, giving it one of the shortest years of any known planet! Janssen was the first exoplanet to have its atmosphere successfully analyzed. Both the Hubble and retired Spitzer space telescopes confirmed that the hot world is enveloped by an atmosphere of helium and hydrogen, with traces of hydrogen cyanide: not a likely place to find life, especially since the surface is probably scorching-hot rock. NASA’s Exoplanet Travel Bureau allows us to imagine what it would be like to visit 55 Cancri e and other worlds.

How do astronomers find planets around other star systems? The Night Sky Network’s “Wobbles and Transits: How Do We Find Planets Around Other Stars?” activity helps demonstrate both the transit and wobble methods of exoplanet detection. Notably, 55 Cancri e was discovered using the wobble method in 2004, and the transit method confirmed its orbital period in 2011!

Want to learn more about exoplanets? Get the latest NASA news about worlds beyond our solar system at NASA Exoplanets!

Originally posted by Dave Prosper: March 2020

Last Updated by Kat Troche: March 2026

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