{"id":769723,"date":"2023-10-17T14:22:11","date_gmt":"2023-10-17T18:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=769723"},"modified":"2023-10-17T14:22:11","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T18:22:11","slug":"lynn-bassford-prioritizes-learning-as-a-hubble-mission-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=769723","title":{"rendered":"Lynn Bassford Prioritizes Learning as a Hubble Mission Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"
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6 min read<\/p>\n

Lynn Bassford Prioritizes Learning as a Hubble Mission Manager<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Name<\/strong>: Lynn Bassford<\/p>\n

Title<\/strong>: Hubble Space Telescope Mission Flight Operations Manager<\/p>\n

Formal Job Classification<\/strong>: Multifunctional Engineering and Science Manager<\/p>\n

Organization<\/strong>: Astrophysics Project Division, Hubble Space Telescope Operations Project, Code 441<\/p>\n

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\"Lynn<\/figure>
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Lynn Bassford\u2019s long career enables her to keep learning. \u201cIt\u2019s just a fact of my life to learn something new every day until the day I die,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m not happy being stagnant.\u201d<\/div>\n
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center\/Tim Childers<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard\u2019s mission?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I help Goddard\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope Mission Operations Team to make sure that we\u2019re taking care of the health and safety of the spacecraft. This includes commanding and playing back data from Hubble and working with the ground system and subsystems engineering teams to coordinate procedures, train people, schedule everyone, and manage resources.<\/p>\n

How did you find your path to Goddard?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I graduated and wasn\u2019t quite sure where a physics major would go for a position. So, I picked up a copy of Physics Today<\/em>, went through every company in there, and sent out my r\u00e9sum\u00e9. After sending approximately 200, an application came back from Lockheed. It said to fill it out and send it to the Lockheed closest to you. There were 10 different locations, so I sent it to all 10. One day, there was a message on the answering machine that said, \u201cHey, Lynn, just wondering if you would like to work on a telescope in space for NASA.\u201d The person who called, his name sounded like \u201cMr. Adventure,\u201d and I gave him a call back and found out his name was Mr. Ed Venter. I can\u2019t help but think it\u2019s pretty cool, actually, because it has indeed been a great adventure!<\/p>\n

What is your favorite part of working at Goddard?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Working with the spacecraft! Physically sending a command up and seeing it come back is just utterly amazing.<\/p>\n

Over the years, I\u2019ve had the luck of being able to meet several astronauts that have gone up in our servicing missions. In a couple cases, we had them visit us in the middle of the night on our long shifts. Meeting them is like meeting a rock star.<\/p>\n

What first sparked your interest in space?<\/strong> Space was a combination of sci-fi and reality. The Apollo 11 Moon landing took place a couple of months after I was born, so my dad and I like to say that I was in front of the TV watching and it just got absorbed into my persona. One day, I saw Sally Ride up working in space and the TV said she had a background in physics, so I did physics.<\/p>\n

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\"Two<\/figure>
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Lynn Bassford says her favorite part of working at Goddard has always been working directly with the Hubble Space Telescope. \u201cPhysically sending a command up and seeing it come back is just utterly amazing,\u201d she says.<\/div>\n
Courtesy of Lynn Bassford<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What is your educational background?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was always very good at science and math and absolutely loved them. In middle school, I wanted to do astrogeology, but everyone I talked to said I kind of made that up. Now it\u2019s all around the place! I went to University of Lowell for physics, which became UMass at Lowell. I ended up working for a physics professor who was also the head of the astronomy department.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve held many roles over your years at Goddard. How do you feel that they\u2019ve contributed to your current role as a manager?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everything I\u2019ve done aligns. I learn from everyone at all levels that I interact with. I did eight-and-a-half years of rotating shift work with flight operations, and I made sure that I moved across the room from console to console learning the different areas. Then I went into science instruments system engineering for over five years, where I became the lead. Then I moved into this role in mission operations, which combines those but also brings in employee performance, career growth, safety, diversity and inclusion, and engagement. Understanding what each area does and how they work together helps you optimize everything. It\u2019s just a fact of my life to learn something new every day until the day I die. I\u2019m not happy being stagnant.<\/p>\n

How do you manage stressful situations when working with the telescope?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t even think about how stressful it is because of the training I had in those early days: working with and learning from the experts about what you look at, who you call, what you do, and how to keep the telescope in a safe condition. Even during issues or service missions, we\u2019re actually a very calm team.<\/p>\n

What is your proudest accomplishment at Goddard?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

When I was a Flight Operations Team shift supervisor in charge of my own crew for Hubble, on Jan. 6, 1996, we got hit with a three-foot snowstorm. Back in those days, we were on rotating shift work. When I left work that day, there was a light layer of snow, so I went home and collected whatever I could in the house for food, knowing there were at least five people on-site that might not go home. I drove back to work with half-a-foot of snow. Seven people stayed for two-and-a-half days straight. We pulled the foam coverings off the walls, piled them up in layers, and made a mattress out of it. We put it in one of the warmer inner offices so we could take turns sleeping eight hours and splitting 16 hours between working real-time operations and moving our vehicles from lot to lot for the Goddard snowplows. NASA gave us a small award afterwards.<\/p>\n

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\"Lynn<\/figure>
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Lynn Bassford and the 1996 Hubble flight operations team received an award for keeping Hubble running during a three-foot snowstorm. \u201cSeven people stayed for two-and-a-half days straight,\u201d Lynn recalls.<\/div>\n
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What is the coolest part of your job?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hubble\u2019s mission is just generally the coolest. It\u2019s helping to discover, and to rewrite science books. Helping humanity discover what\u2019s out there and move forward into the universe is groundbreaking.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to people looking to have jobs at Goddard?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For students, make sure you work hard even though college can be quite a challenge. That\u2019s the intention \u2013 to get you thinking in all different ways and broaden your mind. Don\u2019t give up, even when it\u2019s challenging.<\/p>\n

For workers, diversifying your interests and not specializing in one area will make you open to a lot of different opportunities that you might not know about. You need to keep learning in order to be the best asset to an employer.<\/p>\n

Do you have a favorite space or Hubble fact?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hubble is a green telescope! We had solar panels before houses did.<\/p>\n

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\"Lynn<\/figure>
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Lynn Bassford frequently helps out with Hubble outreach. \u201cHubble\u2019s mission is just generally the coolest,\u201d she says. \u201cHelping humanity discover what\u2019s out there and move forward into the universe is groundbreaking.\u201d <\/div>\n
Courtesy of Jim Jeletic<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

How do you like to spend your time outside of work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My dedication to work and family takes up most of my time, admittedly. If I can fit it in, I like to walk outside, do artwork that involves Hubble, and do challenging sports like white water rafting and bungee jumping.<\/p>\n

In the \u201990s, I played on the men\u2019s softball team at Goddard. I was a pitcher for the Hubble team.<\/p>\n

What is your \u201csix-word memoir\u201d? A six-word memoir describes something in just six words.<\/strong> We\u2019re all made of stardust, IDIC. IDIC stands for infinite diversity in infinite combinations \u2013 it comes from Star Trek\u2019s Spock.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Conversations With Goddard <\/em><\/strong>is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center\u2019s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on <\/em>Goddard\u2019s \u201cOur People\u201d webpage<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Hannah Richter<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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