Dennis Webb (1976 BSEE) started with NASA during the last leg of the Apollo missions, still a rookie engineer on a University of Houston Co-op. Now, a veteran of the agency, the 54-year-old plans to end his career with NASA the same way he started—helping get astronauts to the moon.
“I couldn’t have been happier to finish out my career working on a program where we’re building the next set of systems that’s taking us into our next years in space,” said Webb, who is scheduled to retire from NASA in November.
His current work with NASA is among the components of the agency’s Constellation Program, slated to take astronauts to the Moon on Orion, one component of a three-part system that will be the successor to the space shuttle. As he finishes his last days as manager of the Constellation Mission Operations Project, Webb is tasked with ensuring all activities related to mission operations are capable of supporting Orion’s 2020 lunar mission.
“The constellation Orion spacecraft is a peer project to mine,” Webb explained of his role in the overall program. “The missions operations project has the responsibility to upgrade the current mission control center to be used to support Orion missions and build a unique simulator to train the astronauts.”
By the time it’s come to fruition, the work his office is doing on the project will not only help facilitate the first mission to the moon in a half century, but allow for future trips to establish a long-term lunar base.
While the Montana native has been passionate about NASA and its future space missions for more than 30 years, working at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center was not always his dream.
Webb first enrolled at the University of Houston with the intention of obtaining a degree in mathematics. It was not until he was a sophomore his years of tinkering with electronics got the better of him, and he pursued engineering.
Four years and five NASA Co-ops later, Webb had finished his electrical engineering degree and took a job full-time with the agency. He’s stayed more than thirty-five years, taking part in missions that included Apollo 17 and Skylab, America’s first orbital science and engineering laboratory. He’s lent a hand designing and operating the space shuttle, and was tasked with assembling the first team of individuals to lead International Space Station mission operations.
“I’ve been blessed with a career filled with variety and personal growth,” Webb said. “I have worked with and for heroes of the Apollo missions and I feel I have honored their legacy by helping start up our return to the moon and on to Mars. The best is yet to come for our nation's space program.”