{"id":240564,"date":"2025-06-23T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=874367"},"modified":"2025-06-23T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T10:00:00","slug":"heather-cowardin-safeguards-the-future-of-space-exploration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=240564","title":{"rendered":"Heather Cowardin Safeguards the Future of Space Exploration\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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5 Min Read<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHeather Cowardin Safeguards the Future of Space Exploration\u00a0\u00a0\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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As branch chief of the Hypervelocity Impact and Orbital Debris Office at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Dr. Heather Cowardin leads a team tasked with a critical mission: characterizing and mitigating orbital debris\u2014space junk that poses a growing risk to satellites, spacecraft, and human spaceflight. <\/p>\n

Long before Cowardin was a scientist safeguarding NASA\u2019s mission, she was a young girl near Johnson dreaming of becoming an astronaut.  <\/p>\n

\u201cI remember driving down Space Center Boulevard with my mom and seeing people running on the trails,\u201d she said. \u201cI told her, \u2018That will be me one day\u2014I promise!\u2019 And she always said, \u2018I know, honey\u2014I know you will.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

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Official portrait of Heather Cowardin. <\/div>\n
NASA\/James Blai<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I was committed to working at NASA\u2014no matter what it took.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"Heather<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Heather Cowardin<\/p>\n

Hypervelocity Impact and Orbital Debris Branch Chief<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Today, that childhood vision has evolved into a leadership role at the heart of NASA\u2019s orbital debris research. Cowardin oversees an interdisciplinary team within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, or ARES. She supports measurements, modeling, risk assessments, and mitigation strategies to ensure the efficiency of space operations.  <\/p>\n

With more than two decades of experience, Cowardin brings expertise and unwavering dedication to one of the agency\u2019s most vital safety initiatives. <\/p>\n

Her work focuses on characterizing Earth-orbiting objects using optical and near-infrared telescopic and laboratory data. She helped establish and lead the Optical Measurement Center, a specialized facility at Johnson that replicates space-like lighting conditions and telescope orientations to identify debris materials and shapes, and evaluate potential risk. <\/p>\n

Cowardin supports a range of research efforts, from ground-based and in-situ, or in position, observations to space-based experiments. She has contributed to more than 100 scientific publications and presentations and serves as co-lead on Materials International Space Station Experiment missions, which test the durability of materials on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory. <\/p>\n

She is also an active member of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee, an international forum with the goal of minimizing and mitigating the risks posed by space debris.  <\/p>\n

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Heather Cowardin, left, holds a spectrometer optical feed as she prepares to take a spectral measurement acquisition on the returned Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 radiator. It was inspected by the Orbital Debris Program Office team for micrometeoroid and orbital debris impacts at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in 2009, and later studied for space weathering effects on its painted surface.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Her passion was fueled further by a mentor, Dr. James R. Benbrook, a University of Houston space physics professor and radar scientist supporting the Orbital Debris Program Office. \u201cHe was a hard-core Texas cowboy and a brilliant physicist,\u201d she said. \u201cHe brought me on as a NASA fellow to study orbital debris using optical imaging. After that, I was committed to working at NASA\u2014no matter what it took.\u201d <\/p>\n

After completing her fellowship, Cowardin began graduate studies at the University of Houston while working full time. Within a year, she accepted a contract position at Johnson, where she helped develop the Optical Measurement Center and supported optical analyses of geosynchronous orbital debris. She soon advanced to optical lead, later serving as a contract project manager and section manager. <\/p>\n

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Heather Cowardin inspects targets to study the shapes of orbital debris using the Optical Measurement Center at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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What we do at NASA takes new thinking, new skills, and hard work\u2014but I believe the next generation will raise the bar and lead us beyond low Earth orbit.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"Heather<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Heather Cowardin<\/p>\n

Hypervelocity Impact and Orbital Debris Branch Chief<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Building on her growing expertise, Cowardin became the laboratory and in-situ measurements lead for the Orbital Debris Program Office<\/a>, a program within the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA Headquarters. She led efforts to characterize debris and deliver direct measurement data to support orbital debris engineering models, such as NASA\u2019s Orbital Debris Engineering Model and NASA\u2019s Standard Satellite Breakup Model, while also overseeing major projects like DebriSat<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

Cowardin was selected as the Orbital Debris and Hypervelocity Integration portfolio scientist, where she facilitated collaboration within the Hypervelocity Impact and Orbital Debris Office\u2014both internally and externally with stakeholders and customers. These efforts laid the foundation for her current role as branch chief. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve really enjoyed reflecting on the path I\u2019ve traveled and looking forward to the challenges and successes that lie ahead with this great team,\u201d she said.  <\/p>\n

One of Cowardin\u2019s proudest accomplishments was earning her doctorate while working full time and in her final trimester of pregnancy. <\/p>\n

\u201cNothing speaks to multitasking and time management like that achievement,\u201d Cowardin said. \u201cI use that story to mentor others\u2014it\u2019s proof that you can do both. Now I\u2019m a mom of two boys who inspire me every day. They are my motivation to work harder and show them that dedication and perseverance always pay off.\u201d <\/p>\n

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From left to right: Heather Cowardin, her youngest child Jamie, her husband Grady, and her oldest child Trystan. The family celebrates Jamie\u2019s achievement of earning a black belt. <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Throughout her career, Cowardin said one lesson has remained constant: never underestimate yourself. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy to think, \u2018I\u2019m not ready,\u2019 or \u2018Someone else will ask the question,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cBut speak up. Every role I\u2019ve taken on felt like a leap, but I embraced it and each time I\u2019ve learned and grown.\u201d <\/p>\n

She has also learned the value of self-awareness. \u201cIt\u2019s scary to ask for feedback, but it\u2019s the best way to identify growth opportunities,\u201d she said. \u201cThe next generation will build on today\u2019s work. That\u2019s why we must capture lessons learned and share them. It\u2019s vital to safe and successful operations.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Heather Cowardin, fifth from left, stands with fellow NASA delegates at the 2024 Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee meeting hosted by the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bengaluru, India. The U.S. delegation included representatives from NASA, the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Federal Communications Commission.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To the Artemis Generation, she hopes to pass on a sense of purpose. <\/p>\n

\u201cCommitment to a mission leads to success,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if your contributions aren\u2019t immediately visible, they matter. What we do at NASA takes new thinking, new skills, and hard work\u2014but I believe the next generation will raise the bar and lead us beyond low Earth orbit.\u201d <\/p>\n

When she is not watching over orbital debris, she is lacing up her running shoes. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve completed five half-marathons and I\u2019m training for the 2026 Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll half-marathon in Nashville,\u201d she said. \u201cRunning helps me decompress\u2014and yes, I often role-play technical briefings or prep conference talks while I\u2019m out on a jog. Makes for interesting moments when I pass people in the neighborhood!\u201d <\/p>\n

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