Meet the Team
Heather Bradshaw - graduate, King George HS, King George, VA

How she got interested in space research: "I've always been fascinated by space exploration. I loved Star Trek, and was enthralled with their mission, "To boldly go, where no one has gone before!" Whenever I hear about advancements in space technology, it inspires me with a great sense of exploration, discovery, and excitement. I also had the incredible opportunity of attending Space Camp when I was in middle school, and it had a profound effect on me. The experience was absolutely amazing. I knew this was my passion, and my dream: to explore space, the final frontier! Later, when I toured the University of Maryland 's Space Systems Lab as a prospective student, I saw the Neutral Buoyancy tank and was captivated. There are only 2 neutral buoyancy tanks in the nation: one at NASA, and one at the University of Maryland . I knew that if I was able to go to the University of Maryland , I would definitely want to work in that lab, doing research. This semester, I had the opportunity to do so, and I jumped at it! I absolutely love working at the Space Systems Lab, and I look forward to continuing my research experience there."

What she likes best about her research: "I love working with the MX-2 Suit, and with the gestural control system for robots. It's exciting to feel like I'm furthering science and knowledge, and it's invigorating to engage in hands-on problem solving about something that fascinates me, and that I'm passionate about. It's a sense of discovery and achievement. From sailing across the oceans, soaring the skies, breaking the sound barrier, and walking on the moon, engineers have been changing the world for centuries. We are using science, technology, and engineering to make dreams into reality!"

Her most interesting experiences in science: "I have been accepted to the NASA Academy internship program, and I am very excited to be working at NASA Goddard this summer! The NASA Academy is an amazing internship program designed to provide interns with awesome opportunities to learn as much as possible about NASA as well as space industry, in order to cultivate the future leaders of NASA and/or space industry. During the week, I work on the NASA project I've been assigned to, which is to engage in systems engineering for the design of the James Webb Space Telescope, balancing the design specs of all the components and subsystems. In essence, we are making sure all the puzzle pieces fit together in order to form a successful space telescope that will explore the history of the universe and look farther back in time than ever (wow!). Also, during the evenings, the 17 of us Academy interns work on the team project we've chosen: designing a spacecraft with a mission to fly to Venus and return samples. Also, on certain nights, we have guest speakers come talk to us, as outstanding people in their field, and share their career experiences and insights. On the weekends, we travel to companies or other NASA Centers, touring the facilities and learning how they operate. This is an incredible experience, and I am very happy to be a part of the NASA Academy."

After graduation: "First, I plan to earn a BS in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a MS in Aerospace Engineering. I hope to work at NASA when I graduate. My career goal is to design spacecraft to explore the universe! I think it would be fascinating to design exploration spacecraft, and/or rovers, and it would be amazing to get to work on the Constellation project, which deals with human spaceflight to the moon, Mars and beyond."

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