Aurora over Utah

The aurora paints the sky near Malad City, Utah, red, purple, and green in this May 11, 2024, image. This aurora was sparked by multiple eruptions of solar material—called coronal mass ejections—colliding with Earth’s magnetic field. This interaction with Earth’s magnetic field can spark a geomagnetic storm and send particles from space rocketing down magnetic field lines toward Earth, where they excite molecules in our planet’s upper atmosphere, releasing light and creating auroras.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Dunford

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Monika Luabeya

Meet NASA Women Behind World’s Largest Flying Laboratory

NASA’s DC-8 aircraft – the world’s largest flying science laboratory – began its science missions in 1987 and since then, has flown in service of the science community over places like Antarctica, Greenland, and Thailand. Aircraft like the DC-8 have enabled scientists to ask questions about life on Earth and explore them in a way that only NASA’s Airborne Science program can make happen. After 37 years, the DC-8 will retire to Idaho State University, where it will serve as an educational tool for students. 

As the DC-8 approaches its retirement, we highlight five of the women who have made the aircraft and program a success.    

 Kirsten Boogaard, Nicki Reid, Carrie Worth, Erin Waggoner, and WendyBereda of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, are building the legacy of women who are helping pave the way for the next generation.

Kirsten Boogaard

Deputy Project Manager

Kirsten Boogaard wears many hats for the DC-8 program, including deputy project manager, mission manager, and assistant mission director.    

Since 2020, she has served as the deputy project manager on the DC-8 Airborne Science laboratory, leading and managing project planning, integration, and resources.  She is one of three women qualified in the mission director role for the flying laboratory. 

“I am really proud of what I accomplish at work,” Boogaard said. “And I am most proud of being able to work full-time and support numerous deployments while having a child.”

Nickelle Reid

Operations Engineer   

As operations engineer, Nicki Reid authorizes the airworthiness for the aircraft by ensuring that the science instruments added onboard sustain the aircraft’s safety. She also serves as the mission director, where she manages communications with the cabin and cockpit crews.    

“It takes a lot of practice to get used to hearing all the different conversations and weeding out what’s important, staying focused, and staying on top of all the action that’s happening,” Reid said.     

For a science mission project, that focus is essential to maintaining efficient communication between scientists and pilots.  Reid has been honing that skill since she started as an intern at NASA Armstrong.

Carrie Worth

Pilot    

Carrie Worth is part of a team uniquely qualified to fly the DC-8. Her journey to her career as a pilot began as a child.

“When I was a little kid, I saw Patty Wagstaff perform aeronautical stunts at the airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin,” Carrie Worth, NASA DC-8 pilot, said. “I decided then and there that I wanted to be a pilot.”     

Before joining NASA, Worth served 21 years in the U.S. Air Force as a special operations and search and rescue pilot, and then worked as a 747 pilot for United Parcel Service in Anchorage, Alaska. As a woman working in a male-majority industry, Worth is grateful for the supportive work environment at NASA and the DC-8 program.    

“I feel incredibly lucky for the support I have and have had from my male peers,” she said. “I have seen a significant improvement in the [aviation] culture, but there’s still work to be done.”

Erin Waggoner

Research Aerodynamics and Propulsion Branch Chief   

In 2011, Erin Wagonner joined the Research Aerodynamics and Propulsion Branch at NASA Armstrong to support sonic boom research. Today, she is the branch chief.   

“I’m thankful for all the mentorship I’ve received throughout my career,” Waggoner said. “Everyone from the maintenance crew to the researchers are very welcoming, willing to share their expertise, and mission-focused.”   

Waggoner’s experience with the DC-8 program inspired her to recognize the value of a team spirit in a successful project.    

“I’ve learned a lot about team dynamics from my time on the DC-8, like how to integrate new members into an existing team,” Waggoner said. “I love being able to encourage young women interested in NASA and aviation, and learning from the women who blazed the trails ahead of me.”

Wendy Bereda

Site Supervisor  

Wendy Bereda started working on the DC-8 aircraft in 1999, first as a logistics clerk, later as a project support supply tech. She is now the site supervisor for the maintenance contract at NASA Armstrong. 

“Through the years, I’ve received different accolades, but the one that meant the most to me was given to me by Headquarters for my administrative excellence in finding parts and keeping the DC-8 flying.”     

As a science-driven platform, the DC-8 project is composed of a team driven to provide the best customer service.    

“Our team has so much love for the DC-8,” Bereda said. “We live and breathe to make things happen.  This is why I’m proud to have been a big part of the DC-8 life at Armstrong.” 

Experts like the women above enrich NASA’s legacy of innovation and exploration, and make programs like the DC-8 a success.

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Tech Today: A NASA-Inspired Bike Helmet with Aerodynamics of a Jet  

Before the U.S. Cycling Federation adopted a requirement for all bike racers to wear helmets in 1986, most people rode without one. The only helmet options at the time drew rider complaints for being too hot and heavy. But, with a bit inspiration from a NASA aircraft wing design used during World War II, more than 20,000 competitive biker racers would soon have a lighter-weight option to protect their heads. 

Jim Gentes, an industrial designer, and bicycling enthusiast developing an aerodynamic bike helmet, saw the new rule as an opportunity. He started Giro Sport Design Inc., now based in Irvine, California, to provide bike racers a speed and safety advantage. Then came the Giro Prolight, a lightweight racing helmet that was cool and aerodynamic, drawing upon a NASA-developed aircraft wing technology.

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), NASA’s predecessor, developed the NACA 6-series airfoil during World War II to reduce drag in fighter aircraft. Raymond Hicks, an aerodynamicist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, helped Gentes adapt that wing design to improve airflow over the helmet, reducing drag. Compared with bareheaded racing, wind tunnel tests confirmed that the reduced drag could save one second in a little over half a mile.

To keep it lightweight, the Prolight used expanded polystyrene foam with a removable Lycra cover. Vents in the front and rear of the helmet let air flow through, using the vacuum created by the rear vents to pull air into the helmet. The vent design also smoothed airflow, reducing turbulence and drag.

In 1986, Gentes added a foam model called the Aerohead. The Hammerhead, a Prolight with a thin shell, came next, followed by the newer, streamlined Aerohead. When Gentes’ friend Greg LeMond won the 1989 Tour de France wearing the Aerohead, worldwide acclaim followed. 

Giro has changed hands several times since the 1980s and today, the brand continues to offer bike helmets and other sporting equipment and apparel. 

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NASA to Discuss New Polar Climate Mission During Media Teleconference

NASA is hosting a media call at 3 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, May 15, to discuss the agency’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission, which aims to improve life on Earth by studying heat loss from Earth’s polar regions and provide information on our changing climate.

The first of two shoebox-sized satellites is targeted to launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket no earlier than Wednesday, May 22. The launch date for the second satellite will be announced shortly after the launch of the first satellite.

Earth absorbs a lot of energy from the Sun at the tropics. Weather and ocean currents move that heat energy toward the poles, where the heat radiates upward into space. Much of that heat is in far-infrared wavelengths and has never been systematically measured. The data from PREFIRE will address this knowledge gap for the benefit of all by improving predictions of climate change and sea level rise.

The audio-only teleconference streamed live on the agency’s website.

Participants include:

• Karen St. Germain, director, Earth Science Division, NASA Headquarters in Washington
• Mary White, project manager, PREFIRE, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southern California
• Tristan L’Ecuyer, principal investigator, PREFIRE, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Peter Beck, CEO and founder, Rocket Lab

To participate by telephone, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the start of the call, to Elizabeth Vlock at: elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov.

For more information about NASA’s PREFIRE mission, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/prefire

-end-

Karen Fox / Elizabeth Vlock
Headquarters, Washington
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov

Jane Lee / Andrew Wang
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874
jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov

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Tiernan P. Doyle