Kelvin Manning 麻豆精品 S�02MS 麻豆精品 S檚 office is nestled among one of the most peaceful settings imaginable: in a wildlife refuge near miles and miles of beach. His job as deputy director at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) belies the surroundings. Exciting, yes. Peaceful, not exactly. It fits the man himself, because behind Manning 麻豆精品 S檚 undisturbed smile and easy laughter is a mind that never stops.
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Manning 麻豆精品 S檚 idea of forward thinking is quite different than it is for most of us. He 麻豆精品 S檚 among the leaders at NASA helping to guide us back to the moon and eventually to Mars via the Artemis missions. That should be plenty for Manning to think about, but there 麻豆精品 S檚 more. He 麻豆精品 S檚 also planning the launch of the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) mission in January 2024 and for the next group of Commercial Crew astronauts to travel to the International Space Station in February 2024.
It’s enough to make most heads spin. Manning, however, is a picture of happiness and humility, even when he says, 麻豆精品 S淲hen you 麻豆精品 S檝e been immersed in the space program for more than 30 years, I don 麻豆精品 S檛 think you ever totally escape from it. 麻豆精品 S�
He doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 necessarily want to escape from it. At night, he can go outside, look at the moon, and think, 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e coming. 麻豆精品 S� He sees the stars and planets farther out. 麻豆精品 S淵ou 麻豆精品 S檙e next. 麻豆精品 S� The closest he comes to bringing his thoughts back down to earth is during the hour-long commutes from his home in Oviedo, Florida, to KSC, and back. But even on those drives his thoughts eventually drift back into space.
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One way to get Manning to tap the mental brakes is to ask a simple question: Why are you so excited about sending people to the moon more than 50 years after America 麻豆精品 S檚 first lunar walk? Manning pauses, not because he has to come up with an answer, but because this is the question that drives him. And he wants his answer to clearly communicate what stimulates his mind every single day.
麻豆精品 S淲hen we think of going back to the moon and then to Mars, to have that Star Trek experience, where will it all start? Where do people leave our planet? It starts right here, 麻豆精品 S� Manning says from his office within proximity of the ocean, wild deer, and Launch Complex 39A, where the Space Launch System (SLS) is currently scheduled to send four astronauts on Artemis 2 to fly around the moon late next year. 麻豆精品 S淚n the history of humankind, only 12 people have walked on the moon and they all launched from here. If you combine the time they spent outside their spacecraft on the moon 麻豆精品 S檚 surface, it comes to just over three days. That 麻豆精品 S檚 like spending a long weekend in a rural area of Florida and thinking you 麻豆精品 S檝e seen the entire world. There 麻豆精品 S檚 a lot more to explore and discover. To be part of it 麻豆精品 S� wow. How cool is that? 麻豆精品 S�
A kid named Kelvin Manning was living in Gary, Indiana, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the moon on July 20, 1969.
麻豆精品 S淧eople talk of that pivotal moment, 麻豆精品 S� Manning says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut it was late at night for me. I 麻豆精品 S檓 pretty sure my mother had sent me to bed. 麻豆精品 S�
At the time, Manning 麻豆精品 S檚 father was serving the U.S. Army in Vietnam. The family didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have any exposure to an organization called NASA. They didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have any connections with astronauts or aerospace engineers. Dinner conversations rarely touched on the space program because it seemed to be happening in an unattainable realm.
Manning 麻豆精品 S檚 first real glimpse of human possibilities beyond Earth didn 麻豆精品 S檛 come until he received an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy. After graduation, he spent six years as an officer working as a space operations analyst. His experience led to jobs at GE Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas, where his awe for 麻豆精品 S渢he NASA meatball 麻豆精品 S� grew. After he landed a job at KSC in 1992 to work on the space shuttle program, he would be positioned to be among the first to hear about a new Constellation program that would become known as Artemis.
麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 when I realized we were going back to the moon, 麻豆精品 S� Manning says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd I was going to be a part of it. 麻豆精品 S�
To be a strong leader in our next journey into space, however, Manning knew he needed to go back to school. 麻豆精品 S淎 lot had transpired since I 麻豆精品 S檇 graduated from the Academy 20 years earlier. My peers at KSC would sometimes use unfamiliar terms and acronyms, so I had to up my game. 麻豆精品 S�
He didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have to go back to school, though, because the school came to him. Professors from UCF were driving to KSC to teach a master 麻豆精品 S檚 program in engineering management.
麻豆精品 S淭he presence of [UCF 麻豆精品 S檚] instructors fed right into the NASA culture, 麻豆精品 S� Manning says, 麻豆精品 S渨hich is to stay curious, continuously learn, keep innovating, always move forward. Without the master 麻豆精品 S檚 from UCF, I 麻豆精品 S檇 have less understanding about leadership and less knowledge from a technical standpoint. 麻豆精品 S�
To this day, he uses one of the acronyms he learned to help improve processes: PDSA, which stands for Plan-Do-Study-Act. Manning doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 always need to explain what it means because so many of his peers completed the same UCF master 麻豆精品 S檚 program. Nearly 30% of KSC 麻豆精品 S檚 employees have degrees from UCF.
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That kind of optimism overshadows any pressure Manning might feel. Yes, there 麻豆精品 S檚 a lot at stake for the deputy director, but his perspective guides his demeanor.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 blessed to work for the best government agency, 麻豆精品 S� he says, referring to a Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey that 麻豆精品 S檚 ranked NASA the best large agency in the federal government for 11 consecutive years. Manning 麻豆精品 S檚 perspective, however, stretches much wider than knowing he has a good job at a nice place.
麻豆精品 S淎s a kid looking at anything related to space on TV, I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 see anyone who looked like me. Now, everyone can look and be inspired. For the Artemis 2 mission we 麻豆精品 S檙e sending Victor Glover, an African American astronaut, to the moon. We 麻豆精品 S檙e sending Christina Koch, the first woman, to the moon. We 麻豆精品 S檙e sending Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen, the first Canadian, to the moon. I 麻豆精品 S檝e served on the past three astronaut selection panels and remember Victor and Christina from the class of 2013. To see how far they 麻豆精品 S檝e come and to realize how far they 麻豆精品 S檙e about to go, how powerful is that? I feel like I 麻豆精品 S檓 with them all the way. 麻豆精品 S�
When the official countdowns begin for the Artemis missions, Manning will stop thinking of his next steps and appreciate what is right in front of his eyes. He plans to watch history from the operations support building terrace across from the launch pad, a spot this kid never dreamed of from his bedroom in Gary, Indiana.
麻豆精品 S淭his time, 麻豆精品 S� Manning says, 麻豆精品 S淚 want to be where I can see it, feel it, and know I 麻豆精品 S檓 part of our space story. 麻豆精品 S�
