Space Systems Engineer and Lean Lead with NASA Experience

John Cook 303-***-****

****@*****.***

• I worked on the Space Shuttle and

International Space Station (ISS) for 18 years.

• Lean and Export Control lead for team

• Lean Graduate Certificate, personal collection of lean books

• Mission Control/Mission Evaluation Room support for Structures and Mechanisms

• I worked with executives on advanced projects such as a Translunar Tug, Asteroid Capture and Deep Space Habitat, now known as Gateway.

• Volunteer at 8th Air Force Museum, Lone Star Flight Museum and Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum

• I was a NASA First Lunar Outpost Research Assistant.

• I was a Lunar and Planetary Institute Graduate Intern, planning traverses on the South Pole of the Moon.

• I attended the first Mars Landing Site Selection Symposium at the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

• Graduate Certificate in Space Resources from Colorado School of Mines

• I can add value to your team

John Cook

Bossier City, LA 303-***-**** ****@*****.***

Summary of Key Achievements

• Verified the International Space Station (ISS) first-time on-orbit fit with 3D CAD analysis.

• Contributed to ISS redesigns preventing on-orbit anomalies and assembly sequence delays.

• Worked with executives to develop Concepts of Operations for multiple advanced projects.

• Supported NASA’s Shuttle Damage Assessment Team post-Columbia accident return to flight

• Authored and presented research bridging architecture, design, and aerospace engineering.

• Recognized for exceptional innovation, Lean practices, and interdisciplinary expertise. Professional Experience

Instructor

Bossier Parish Community College, Bossier City, LA — Aug 2022 – Dec 2022

• Taught Lean, print reading, and advanced manufacturing concepts using custom Canvas multimedia content:

• Real-time 3D CAD models demonstrating Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T).

• Interactive Excel charts illustrating inductive and capacitive reactance.

• Animated GIFs demonstrating 2D drafting projections. Mechanical System Design & Analysis Engineer 3

Boeing, Houston, TX — Jun 1998 – May 2014

• Led the development and application of 3D CAD kinematic techniques to verify first-time fit of the ISS during on-orbit assembly.

• Automated a manual post-processing task, saving 187 labor hours in the first 6 months (2007).

• Presented results to the End-to-End Berthing Integration Team (EBIT); resolved critical inter-element interference issues pre-flight, which included:

• Node 3 stovepipe modification/redesign for Cupola ground install and deberth

• Cupola interior closeout panel interference

• Node 2 WIF removal for HTV berthing

• MT sunshield/MBS interference and redesign

• JEM PS/JEM PM turtleneck MMOD shield interference

• CBM/SPAM reconfigurations

• Z1 Bowtie D-ring approach corridor interference

• Supported Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) guide meshing flight rule

• Served on the Shuttle Tile Damage Assessment Team post-Columbia Accident, creating CAD models from laser scans of tile damage to confirm safe Space Shuttle tile thermal protection integrity.

• Spearheaded Lean process improvements and served as the Export Control lead.

• Worked with executives to develop concept of operations for Asteroid Capture, Deep Space Habitat and Translunar Injection Tug.

Member Technical Staff 3

Dynacs Engineering, Houston, TX — Oct 1995 – Jun 1998

• Conducted Digital Pre-Assembly (DPA) measurements of Space Shuttle and ISS flight hardware using digital photogrammetry - Verified the Space Shuttle Endeavor docking mechanism post-test integrity.

• Delivered precise 3D CAD documentation of key flight hardware geometry for Mission Control and crew.

Volunteer Intern

NASA Headquarters, Washington DC / Houston, TX (remote) — Jun 2017 – Aug 2018

• Contributed to weekly telecons developing the rationale for the Moon as a stepping stone to Mars.

• Authored published Space News article:

• “Mars and the Moon: Not an Either/Or Proposition” Graduate Student Summer Exploration Intern

Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX — May – Jul 2016

• Developed detailed flight plans for lunar surface traverses using pressurized rovers and EVA sample collection.

• Toured the interior of the NASA Pressurized Lunar Rover mockup at Wings over Houston Airshow.

• Authored an article in Aerospace America on challenges of the assembly of the ISS.

• Authored an article in Space News titled “Why Return to the Moon” — advocating lunar resources as an enabling factor in exploration strategy. Research Assistant

University of Houston, Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA) — Fall/Spring 2016

• Performed 3D CAD design studies for the NASA Deep Space Habitat/Gateway project. 1992

• Contributed to NASA’s First Lunar Outpost design based on ISS hardware (galley stowage volume calculations, crew quarters/solar flare shelter design with radiation shielding hand calculations). Staff Writer

Oredigger, Colorado School of Mines Newspaper — Fall 2019 – Spring 2021

• Authored articles for The Oredigger student newspaper covering engineering and campus research. Volunteer & Community Involvement

• Wings Over the Rockies Museum — Restoration Department Volunteer (2019–2020).

• Calvary Kitchen Staff, served free lunches to Mines students (2019–2020).

• Wings Over Houston Airshow, Pilot Hospitality & Logistics Volunteer (2014–2017).

• Attended Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Mission Control Reunion (2019).

• Participant & Presenter, SPACE/SpaceCom Conferences (2011, 2015, 2016, 2019). Education

Louisiana Tech University — Lean Certificate, Ruston, LA (Nov 2024) Colorado School of Mines — Graduate Certificate in Space Resources, Golden, CO (May 2021) University of Houston — Master of Architecture, Houston, TX (Dec 1994) Louisiana Tech University — Bachelor of Architecture, Ruston, LA (Mar 1992) Technical Skills

Operating Systems: Windows, DOS, UNIX, Linux

CAD & Design: AutoCAD R10-2016, CATIA V5, Unigraphics NX2-8, ProE, Deneb V5.2.1, Delmia, Cadvance R3-5, Cura 21

3D Modeling / Visualization: 3D Studio v2-4, 3DS MAX 2016, Corel Paint Shop Pro X7, Adobe Photoshop, Picture Publisher 5.0

Engineering & Analysis: Matlab, MS Project, Excel, ARCGIS, HTML, Python Multimedia & Communication: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Premier, PowerPoint, Sibelius, Word, WordPerfect Publications

• “Mars and the Moon: Not an Either/Or Proposition,” Space News

• “Why Return to the Moon,” Space News

• “Assembling the International Space Station,” Aerospace America Awards & Honors

• Silver Snoopy Spaceflight Awareness Award, presented by NASA Astronauts

• Autodesk CADDIES 1st Place — Animation (Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back)

• Three Boeing Employee of the Month Awards, 45 Commendations The picture below (by NASA) is of me being presented a Silver Snoopy award for engineering excellence. At far left of the picture is Shuttle/MIR/Space X astronaut Dr. Mike Barratt. Next to Dr. Barratt is Dr. Stan Love, a Desert RATS (Lunar analog training simulation) participant. He is the Artemis II lead CapCom. To the far right is Dr. Ellen Ochoa, former astronaut and JSC center director. She is also an accomplished flute musician. I grew up at Edwards Air Force Base. My late father worked in Test and Evaluation on the first FB-111A and the first B-1A. He took me to see the first Space Shuttle (Enterprise) being built at Palmdale (near the first B- 1A). He is shown next to Dr. Ochoa in the Silver Snoopy photo above. I was a media escort for the Space Shuttle Columbia visit to Barksdale Air Force Base. I worked as an 8th Air Force Museum volunteer on the B-17 in the foreground. Photo by the late Buck Riggs, Eighth Air Force Museum Curator.

The picture below (by Buck Riggs) is an out take from an Air Classics photoshoot, taken during a rare snow storm at Barksdale Air Force Base. To my left is Aviation Artist Wade Meyers. He took art lessons from my mother, who taught art for 40 years and founded the Bossier Art Association and Bossier Arts Council. She is shown to my left in the Silver Snoopy photo above. In JROTC, I flew on a KC-135 refueling mission. I observed refueling from the boom operator’s position. After refueling, I experienced 1/3G and 1/6G walking in the cargo bay as the pilot put the aircraft through parabolic arcs. I have 27 hours flight training (starting at age 6), flying 5 different types of aircraft (Piper Cub, Aeronca Chief, Ercoupe, Cessna 152, Remos GX). Flew in a Ford Trimotor, B-17 and B-24 in closed environments such as turrets and flight decks.

In Graduate School at the University of Houston, I worked on the PBS NOVA documentary Apollo 13 to the edge and back about the Apollo 13 mission. The documentary was sold in a boxed set with the Apollo 13 movie starring Tom Hanks. I built CAD models of the Apollo Lunar Module and the Command/Service Module and the S-IVb used in the 10 1/2 minutes of computer animation to support dramatic moments in the documentary.

I was a NASA research assistant on the First Lunar Outpost return to the Moon program. The concept was to use International Space Station derived designs to build a lunar surface outpost. Image below by NASA. Doctoral students planning traverses on the South Pole of the Moon. Map of the South Pole below by the Lunar and Planetary Institute. I researched at the Colorado School of Mines and earned a Graduate Certificate in Space Resources.

I performed kinematic CAD analysis to verify the first time fit of the on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station. I verified the highlighted interfaces in the following NASA graphic, annotated by author. I was a Research assistant at the Lunar and Planetary Institute where I worked with an international team of I led the team that created this cutaway poster of the ISS. 40,000 folded copies were distributed in Flight Global magazine. Thousands of flat copies were distributed to ISS team members. 40 signed and numbered copies were presented to VIPs.

I was a test conductor for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (Test and Verification). I led high performance teams of approximately 5 individuals in the Orbiter Processing Facility and the Space Station Processing Facility and the Apollo era Operations and Checkout Building. Our team measured the Space Shuttle Endeavor docking mechanism to verify that it had not been damaged in testing. I served on the Space Shuttle Tile Damage Assessment Team after the Columbia Accident. The following chart is by NASA; I created CAD models from point clouds as shown in bottom right. These CAD models were used by aerodynamic and thermal teams to verify that the tiles had not been compromised to an unsafe condition.

I am shown in the view above standing next to Node 3 during my participation in the Node 3 walkdown prior to it being placed in the canister for transport out to the pad. I contributed to Node 3 hardware modifications that allowed the Cupola (white object above me) to be installed on Node 3 forward axial port and then deberthed on orbit. The Cupola was initially designed for a radial port. The view above shows me participating in a National Space Society visit with Texas Representative Weber. My human spaceflight experience and ability to solve problems would be an asset to your organization. Thank you,

John Cook

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