Houston, TX -- 7 DEC 09
West Texas A&M Student Works with NASA Mission Console Operations Hands-On USRP internship
Houston, TX - December 7, 2009: Texas resident William Walker is a Fall 2009 intern with the NASA Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP) at the
Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Walker is in the Mission Operations Directorate during his 15-week internship.
Walker works with a NASA mentor in the Cargo Integration and Operations Branch. He is writing a Cargo Systems Manuel on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-2). This is an experiment studying the properties of cosmic rays and to discover anti-matter and dark matter.
"I enjoy having a job that makes an impact in the real NASA workforce. I am not here for an education experience; I am here to work and do my part in the space industry. NASA intern experiences give me that opportunity," comments Walker about his internship experience so far.
Walker is also involved in On-Job Training (OJT) to learn the basic flight controller functions and the basic team environment that takes place in Mission Control Center. He is also beginning to take Russian language courses.
Walker is a sophomore from Canyon, TX at West Texas A&M. He plans to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering in May, 2012.
"I have always enjoyed putting things together and seeing how things worked. Playing with Legos was always a treasured past time when I was a kid," adds Walker about his academic path.
NASA USRP has placed 23 mechanical engineering majors for the fall 2009 internship session on-site at NASA centers across the U.S.
Written By: Jackie Juergens of the Universities Space Research Association
Contributing Editor By: Anthony Zippay of the Universities Space Research Association
