{"id":264784,"date":"2026-01-30T04:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T04:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/264784\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T04:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T04:28:09","slug":"i-am-artemis-doug-parkinson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/264784\/","title":{"rendered":"I Am Artemis: Doug Parkinson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Doug Parkinson\u2019s face lights up as he starts telling his story, how someone from \u00a0Wisconsin now plays a part in the team that will help land the first Artemis astronauts on to the Moon.<\/p>\n

Parkinson serves as NASA\u2019s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket lead for Launch Integration and Mission Operations, guiding engineers responsible for monitoring the rocket during testing, pre-launch, and launch activities.<\/p>\n

Following his father\u2019s footsteps, Parkinson became a mechanical engineer, studying at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He had planned on working in computer technologies or on cars in his future. Then the opportunity appeared to work with higher-powered engines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came across an opportunity to work at the Propulsion Research Center at the university. I studied new propulsion technologies. That intrigued me because, as an undergrad, it was a chance to put into practical use what I was learning in the books and in theory,\u201d said Parkinson. \u201cIt ended up being a lot of fun and very educational. It was in cutting edge technologies that really inspired me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1999, he began helping develop advanced liquid rocket engines, including the Fastrac and J-2X engines. The J-2X was an advanced development of the upper stage engine used on the Saturn V.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2012, I moved to SLS. One of the things I learned in the propulsion area with all the engine testing was test operations. That translated well into my new role as operations lead for the stages element,\u201d said Parkinson.<\/p>\n

Now, he also serves as one of the SLS Engineering Support Center managers, helping oversee and train the SLS Engineering Support Team responsible for monitoring the rocket\u2019s systems. The team operates at NASA Marshall and is critical to verifying the rocket is performing well.<\/p>\n

Parkinson is the first person to hold the Launch Integration and Mission Operations leadership position in the SLS Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love all aspects of the operations. I like getting my hands dirty. I like seeing the erector set go together,\u201d said Parkinson.<\/p>\n

When the Artemis II<\/a> astronauts fly by the Moon, soaring within just a few thousand miles of the lunar surface, they will do so having been launched on a rocket Parkinson helped develop.<\/p>\n

\"Doug<\/p>\n

Doug Parkinson<\/p>\n

Launch Integration and Mission Operations Lead for the SLS (Space Launch System) Program<\/p>\n

\u201cI have goosebumps just thinking about it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll be on console for part of that time, listening to what they have to say. It\u2019s amazing to think we\u2019re going to go do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SLS rocket will launch NASA\u2019s Orion spacecraft to carry four astronauts around the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to lay the groundwork for the first human mission to Mars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doug Parkinson\u2019s face lights up as he starts telling his story, how someone from \u00a0Wisconsin now plays a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[6353,6552,33080,85,46,10095,125770,141,145,9143],"class_list":{"0":"post-264784","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-artemis","9":"tag-artemis-2","10":"tag-i-am-artemis","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-marshall-space-flight-center","14":"tag-people-of-marshall","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-space","17":"tag-space-launch-system-sls"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}