Hayward Grad Involved with NASA Artemis II Mission

NASA's Artemis II recently completed their 10-day lunar flyby mission. Many people watched the rocket take off from the Kennedy Space Center whether in person or on television, as well as the landing off of the coast of San Diego, CA. It was a historic event and was the first crewed lunar flyby in fifty years. Hopefully I'm not the first one to tell you this, but the moon is a long ways away from Earth (238,900 miles) and whether you're in Florida or up in the northwoods of Wisconsin; it shines bright for us all to look at in wonder. A 2013 Hayward High School graduate gave the people of Hayward, WI a reason to smile up at the starry night sky with his involvement in the Artemis II mission.

Jerald "JT" Thompson is the Deputy System Manager of Orion Structures. He's been working with NASA now for almost ten years and to me it comes as no surprise. JT and I grew up together in Hayward, WI. We went to daycare together, attended the same birthday parties, played the same sports and worked at the local go kart track together for over five years. I knew he had a bright future ahead of him because he used to tinker with an old chainsaw engine and tried attaching it to a bicycle of his for fun. I had absolutely no idea what he was doing, but it was entertaining to watch while eating my lunch.

JT (left) and I taking a picture with some of our favorite customers during our last summer at the go kart track.

When I asked him about his role in the Artemis II mission, he had this to say.

"I am responsible for ensuring the structures of each subsystem sitting on top of the Space Launch System (SLS) do not fail at any point during the mission. The major subsystems of Orion include the Launch Abort System (LAS), Crew Module (CM), and Service Module (SM). NASA ensures structures do not fail via thorough analysis and testing, which is known as verification. Analysis involves a lot of math and virtual simulations. Physical testing confirms the structures can withstand the environments and validates the math and simulations. I personally perform some of the verification work and ultimately sign many of the documents when they provide proof that the requirements are met."

To put it in northwoods terms, he's the guy you want helping you build your deer stand.

Now Thompson didn't always have his sights set on aeronautics. That vision didn't begin to materialize until he got to college.

"I was torn between becoming a pilot and an engineer from middle school to high school, and finally landed on aeronautic (airplane) engineering when I got to college." Thompson added, "I spent so much time learning everything I could about winged flight just to dedicate my career to spacecraft when given the opportunity. Unfortunately, rockets are quite different than airplanes."

I then asked him what inspired him to pursue a career with NASA.

"Growing up, I viewed NASA as an organization of talented people solving the hardest problems for the most noble pursuits. I enjoyed math, science, and building things, so it seemed like the best goal I could come up with. Honestly, It was a dream I thought would never pan out. I just kept working toward it one step at a time until I did the thing! My highest priorities quickly shifted from "how do I get a job at NASA?" to "how do I keep everyone safe on this spacecraft?"

Thankfully Thompson has a little bit different vision than your uncle while taking you and your cousins tubing on Round Lake. He's concerned about safety when on the flip side your uncle asks the question, "how do I injure the most amount of people by noon today while playing Tom Petty's Greatest Hits?"

Artemis II wasn't a short project and Thompson will be the first to tell you.

"I have been working on Artemis for almost ten years! I started in 2017, and from the very beginning I was tasked with aiding the structural analysis and testing of Artemis I."

I then asked him what it feels like to have accomplished a mission of this magnitude.

"This project has consumed my thoughts, ambitions, energy, worries, hopes, and time for almost a third of my life so far." Thompson said, "there hasn't been a single day that has passed where I don't appreciate the gravity of the situation and the risks involved. Above the pride I feel for my teams and the Agency, I feel an incredible sense of relief that our heroes are home safe."

JT and I used to worry about go karters being safe and not bumping each other off the track. I can't imagine the stress he must have felt throughout the entirety of the mission, but also the greatest sense of pride and relief once NASA's Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), Christina Koch (Mission Specialist), and Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist) landed safely in the Pacific Ocean.

Finally, I had to ask him about what his message to kids from the northwoods of Wisconsin would be. There's often this stigma that because you're from a small town, you can't make big things happen. Thompson and so many others are living proof that it doesn't matter if you graduated with 28 students, 150 students or 2,000 students; you can accomplish your dreams and more.

Here's his response:

I'm extending this to accomplishing anything:

1. The most difficult ambitions require a level of dedication and discipline that 99% of people are not willing to stick with. If you want something, show up every single day.

2. Your worth is not tied to your achievements nor your performance. Treat everyone with respect and kindness. Being a source of positive energy in the world will bring you more than you know.

3. Nobody knows everything, and everyone you meet knows something you don't. Accomplishing the impossible requires a team. Try to learn as much as you can from everyone around you.

4. Progression is rarely linear. Everyone fails, makes mistakes, and says or does something they aren't proud of. Learning from your mistakes is how you become the best at something.

So what's next for Thompson and NASA?

"Artemis III+! Docking operations, landing on the moon, building a moon base. New environments and new loads require more structures verification. It turns out, keeping things from breaking has great job security!"

Like I said, he's the guy you want helping you build your deer stand.

Written by Dalton Hessel

#nasa #artemisii #artemisiimission #space #haywardwi #northwoods #wisconsin