Dorothy Ruíz Martínez facts for kids

Dorothy Ruíz-Martínez is an amazing aerospace engineer from Mexico and the United States. She works for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Biography

Dorothy Ruíz-Martínez was born in Texas. She grew up in Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with her grandparents. When she was 16, she moved to the United States.

As a child, she saw the sad event of the Space Shuttle Challenger accident on TV. This made her very curious about rockets and how things fly in space. It inspired her to learn about aerospace engineering.

Education and Early Career

Dorothy went to high school in Texas. She first attended the University of Oklahoma and then transferred to Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas. She earned a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering.

In 1998, while still a student, she had an internship at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia. This was part of the Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars program.

Working at NASA

After finishing college, Dorothy became an instructor. She taught flight controllers and astronauts about the Space Shuttle's guidance, navigation, control (GNC), and propulsion systems.

Later, she worked on 12 Space Shuttle missions as a Real-Time Planning Engineer (RPE). In this role, she helped plan and manage missions as they happened. She worked with many other engineers and scientists to help finish building the International Space Station.

International Work

In 2008, Dorothy worked in Moscow, Russia. She was at the Russian Mission Control Center. Her job was to be the main contact between NASA and the Russian Space Agency for planning space missions.

Ground Control

Since March 2013, Dorothy has been a Ground Controller (GC) in the Mission Control Center. This flight controller position is known by the call sign "Houston-GC." The Houston-GC team manages the communication systems on Earth. They make sure that space vehicles can talk to people on the ground.

Four years later, she became a GC Instructor, teaching others how to be Ground Controllers. Then, she became the lead for GC training. Today, she works in the Mission Control Center Systems branch. She helps manage and maintain the ground systems that support all space flight operations.

Other Activities

Dorothy also volunteered for the Engineers Without Borders, Johnson Space Center Chapter. This group uses engineering skills to help communities around the world.

Achievements

Dorothy Ruíz-Martínez's story was featured in the book Stories for Rebel Girls in 2021. This book shares inspiring stories of women.

See also

In Spanish: Dorothy Ruíz Martínez para niños