WEBVTT 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:06.000 I'm Chuck Dovale, launch director for the Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center. 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:25.000 Music. 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:33.000 My first NASA job, believe it or not, was a summer student in the summer of '82, working in the accounting branch looking at 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:38.000 people's vouchers that have traveled. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:46.000 I didn't have a lot of engineering classes under me yet so once I did get enough engineering courses, 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:52.000 I did get into the co-op program and I was waiting for someone to offer me a co-op job, 00:00:52.000 --> 00:01:01.000 And I got a call from the folks at ELV, and they said, "Hey, we've got your name. Do you want to come work in the telemetry branch?" 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:07.000 I said, "Sure, sounds great!" I hung up the phone, ran to the dictionary and looked up what telemetry meant, because I had no idea. 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:18.000 And so, I've remained there my whole career in the ELV or Launch Services Program and it's been quite a ride. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:26.000 As launch director for the Launch Services Program, I am the single focal point for NASA, for the launch campaign, which is 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:33.000 basically when the time the rocket goes on the pad, for the last three months of the flow. 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:44.000 I'm the focal point for the readiness reviews and the dress rehearsals and the countdown, and people feed into me whether they're go/no-go for launch. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:52.000 It's great to work on one-of-a-kind missions that NASA is launching to study the Earth, to study the planets and the Solar System. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:58.000 So it's been a very good place to work. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:10.000 Some of my other functions within the program are manifest related. We're juggling 30 or so missions at one time. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:16.000 I also do a lot of public speaking, press conferences, webcasts. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:29.000 I talk to schools and try to just pass the word on what a great place NASA is to work for, and what great things they're doing for the community. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:41.000 As a younger person, I was probably about average. I started thinking about going to school. I did, one specific point in time that I do remember, 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:50.000 was I was in a radio and TV repair class and this was in 1981, and I saw STS-1 go up from that class. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:03:03.000 And I was immediately enthralled with that whole experience and wished, you know, I could be part of it. 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:11.000 The one advice I could give to students who want to work for NASA would be to make sure you choose a subject that you have a passion for. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:21.000 Don't necessarily choose a subject because it's popular or it's, you're, 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:29.000 to make a lot of money, because eventually, those kind of things will die out. If you don't have a passion for it, you're not going to be able to sustain a career 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:38.000 with it. So I would make sure you would do that. And just be patient. You know, there's a limited number of jobs for NASA, 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:45.000 but if you work hard enough and you're diligent, doors open and you can step through. 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:55.000 I'm not sure what the future holds for my girls, but, and I certainly won't pressure them to do anything. But if they were to 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:02.000 be involved in the Space Program, I think it would be 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:08.000 great to work with them on potentially like a manned mission to Mars or something like that, because that's probably going to be their generation. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:16.000 And I would love to maybe end my career working with them on that endeavor. 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:30.000 Music. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:35.000