Career
Ken Fore
Swing Arm Engineer
Hometown: Atmore, Alabama
Colleges/Degrees
University of Alabama, Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Why did you decide to study math/science/engineering?
I have always had an ability to do mathematics and solve problems associated with mathematics. This combined with a natural curiosity to find out how things work and how to build things probably led me initially to study engineering in college. I can remember trying to determine a major curriculum for my college studies and how easy the choice was because engineering contained all the subjects that I was interested in.
What inspired you to work for NASA and how did you get hired?
When I was growing up in the Nineteen Fifties and Sixties, the launching of rockets and exploration of Space was just getting started. You were able to watch the early attempts of the rocket launches on black and white televisions that were just becoming available. This instilled an early interest in the pursuit of a career that would allow me to participate and work in an environment associated with Space Exploration.
After I graduated from college with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, I applied for work at many Aircraft companies and also several NASA installations. I did not know a lot about NASA at the time and actually learned about their programs and job opportunities from job interviews on the college campus. The NASA interviewers, especially the ones from the Marshall Space Flight Center and Kennedy Space Center, that described their involvement with the Saturn V rocket program and future plans to send people to the moon instilled a desire to gain employment with NASA
Discuss previous positions held and how they led up to your current position.
After college graduation in 1968, my initial job at NASA was that of a systems engineer at the Kennedy Space Center for the Pneumatic and Umbilical Section which was responsible for Service Arm retraction and Umbilical Plate ejection during the Apollo, ASTP, and Skylab programs until 1976. When these programs ended, the Space Shuttle Program was just gearing up and I requested an opportunity to participate in the initial testing of the Shuttle Test Vehicle, Enterprise, at the Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) in California. I was temporarily transferred to DFRC for fifteen months and since the Space Shuttle was an entirely different Space Vehicle from Apollo Saturn V, I took on new responsibilities as a systems engineer for the Orbiter Structures and Handling/Access Section. My responsibilities during the Shuttle Approach and Landing Test at DFRC included Orbiter structures, Orbiter/Shuttle Carrier Aircraft mate/demate operations and Orbiter jacking and towing operations. The Shuttle testing program at DFRC proved to be a great learning experience which enabled me to not only learn about my own systems, but most of the other Orbiter systems. Building on this learning experience upon my return to KSC, I was able to apply for and obtain a management position as the Section Chief of the Orbiter Thermal Protection and Mechanical Systems Section in 1984. I remained in an engineering management position, gaining more experience in other systems such as Shuttle payload handling operations until 1989. At this time with my experience in various Shuttle systems I became a technical assistant for the Shuttle Vehicle Engineering Mechanical Systems Division. Since then, through various reorganizations within NASA , I presently have a position as Senior Engineer for the Launch Accessories engineering group with engineering responsibilities for Space Shuttle Swing Arms and Launch Accessories operations.
What advice would you give students about how to prepare for a career with NASA?
NASA has many opportunities in a lot of different areas of Science, Engineering, Research and Development. To determine if NASA can provide you with the opportunities that you want, there are many web sites that can give a good insight into that information. Basically by doing well in courses in mathematics, science, computers, and courses to develop communication skills will help prepare an individual for a career with NASA.