When mayhem happens on Earth NASA flight directors remain calm supporting astronauts in space
Fiona Turett and Diane Dailey are 2 of 4 new NASA flight directors
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A NASA flight director is one of the most coveted careers at the space agency. There are far fewer flight directors than astronauts but they are at the forefront of human spaceflight without ever leaving Earth.
Flight directors are in charge of Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, overseeing human spaceflight. They lead teams of flight controllers and engineers, in the U.S. and international partners, all in real-time as astronauts are living and working in space. When there are hurricanes, power outages and world events down on Earth, flight directors must tune all that out and focus on the task at hand, making sure astronauts can safely spacewalk, dock at the space station and, in a few years, land on the moon.