Of the 63 women who have ever flown in space, 37 of them have spent time on board the International Space Station. In honor of Women’s History Month, here’s a look at a few of the women who have made history doing scientific research in Earth orbit. Join us in celebrating one of the many achievements of women in space.

Intern Hunter Goodenow, along with two other NASA interns, took second place at the “Innovation Without Boundaries” event for their Mobile Acronym Search Tool (MAST). Impressively, this was a NASA Kennedy Space Center campus-wide event, not just specific to interns. His team’s tool enables access to NASA acronyms via mobile devices and will ultimately provide acronym access to the entire NASA workforce and the public. 

Avatar Technologies appoints Kajal Pancholi, PE as the CEO & President to lead the company’s strategic growth and business development initiatives. As a licensed engineer with over 15 years of business development, government contracting and aerospace industry experience, Kajal brings a wealth of leadership and commercial know-how. She will be responsible for organizational leadership, strategy, growth and general management.

Avatar is proud to announce that several of our outstanding employees have recently received awards for their exemplary performance under the KLXS contract. Please see below for a brief description of their achievements!

Nick Kindred (KLXS Certificate of Recognition)
In appreciation of his outstanding leadership and support to the Spacecraft Offline Processing Element EOM. Functioning as the Element Operations Manager Deputy, Nick prepared the team for the Preliminary Design Review, leading or overseeing such products as GOPDb Drops 5 and 6; 3-point estimates; resource loading; contingency planning; requirements development; detailed validations and objectives; and stakeholder expectations development. As the Deputy, he led the weekly Spacecraft Offline Processing Element Operations working group and drove many actions to closure with sound technical insights that required constant team coordination. Nick’s efforts stand as an example of excellent quality products and services and are a direct result of his can-do attitude and dedication to the program goals and objectives.

Fred Simmler (KLXS Certificate of Recognition)
In appreciation of Fred’s outstanding leadership in the emulator/simulator team developing Tri-Program Bi-Lateral Exchange Agreements. The analysis and guidance he has provided is recognized as critical to supporting GSDO verification planning and execution. Additionally, he has enhanced technical integration efforts through effective cross functional team collaboration while providing solution based recommendations after identifying non-compliances to the C3R technical baseline and gaps in C3R requirements. Fred’s achievements are a direct result of his exceptional ability to offer and implement effective solutions and indicative of his dedication to the GSDO mission.

Wayne Obenour (Space Flight Awareness Award)
For outstanding leadership and technical excellence in integrating Space Launch System (SLS) Launch Vehicle requirements, design and operations planning with the launch complex ground systems in support the Agency’s Exploration Program.
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