Career Tech Champion Ford Dillon

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Image of Ford Dillon in front of a module When the world's first International Space Station opens for business in 2004, an Oklahoma engineer can take partial credit for that grand opening.

And that scientist got his initial boost from career and technology education.

Ford Dillon is manager of a team of engineers developing the 7A Module Launch Package at the National Aeronautic and Space Agency (NASA) in Houston, TX. The 7A Module scheduled launch date is August 2000. It is one of 45 modules that will ultimately build the Space Station.

In 1984, however, Dillon was just graduating from an industrial electronics program at Indian Capital Area Technology Center, Muskogee and Warner High School. According to Dillon, the electronics program helped him determine a career direction. He also received an electrical engineering degree from the University of Tulsa.

"I had always heard that the career tech school was for people who can't make it in the regular classroom or for those who aren't going to college," Dillon said.

But now he sees it very differently. Dillon attributes his education at Indian Capital with helping him decide on a career path.

"I didn't have much insight for what I really enjoyed and what I might be good at doing. I couldn't decide which science field to go into," Dillon said. "Career tech hooked me on electrical courses. That led to my degree and my career with NASA."

He also attributes career tech for giving him a leg up on other college students because he already knew how to apply electrical concepts.

"When I went to college, other students weren't as ready to wire a circuit as I was," Dillon said. "There, we heard how and why something works. But, the application I'd already had at vo-tech helped me to adapt to the theory I learned in college."

First hired at the Lyndon Johnson Space Center in 1989 in the electrical, electronic, electro-mechanical (EEE) parts division, Dillon now manages a NASA module launch package.

"This includes overseeing everything needed for a module assembly from quality control in computer chips, purchasing the right parts, reliability and meeting the overall mission needs," Dillon said. "We are responsible for delivery to the Kennedy Space Center and for all on-orbit operations until the next space station segment is launched."

The 7A Module will be an airlock depression chamber for astronauts to prepare to go outside for Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), Dillon said. After the shuttle has left the space station, this module will seal itself off from the station, allowing astronauts to prepare for a space walk.

The International Space Station is being built by a partnership including the United States, Russia, the European Space Agency, NASDA (Japan), and the Canadian Space Agency, over a period of five years. The space station's primary purpose is to be a world class, orbiting micro-gravity laboratory where research will be conducted to identify and develop new types of medicines, as well as highly sophisticated materials and processes for use in advanced electronics, structures, engines, and other products now and in the 21st Century.

"Also, the lab is a stepping stone for experiments on the biological and physiological effects of microgravity for longer trips to places like Mars," Dillon said. "It will be used to determine the long-term effects of weightlessness on such things as calcium bone loss."

The space station lab will also be an Earth observatory, checking out ozone problems and storm systems. Eventually, according to Dillon, scientists will be up there full-time to measure and keep records of Earth's atmosphere and ecosystem.

"By 2004, the station will completely support a crew of seven," Ford said.

posted 1/4/2001
Story by:Ann Houston-Wanger
Communications and Marketing
Email: ahous@okcareertech.org

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	When the world's first International Space Station opens for business in 2004, an Oklahoma engineer can take partial credit for that grand opening. And that scientist got his initial boost from career and technology education. Ford Dillon is manager of a team of engineers developing the 7A Module Launch Package at the National Aeronautic and Space Agency (NASA) in Houston, TX. The 7A Module scheduled launch date is August 2000. It is one of 45 modules that will ultimately build the Space Station. In 1984, however, Dillon was just graduating from an industrial electronics program at Indian Capital Area Technology Center, Muskogee and Warner High School. According to Dillon, the electronics program helped him determine a career direction. He also received an electrical engineering degree from the University of Tulsa. "I had always heard that the career tech school was for people who can't make it in the regular classroom or for those who aren't going to college," Dillon said. But now he sees it very differently. Dillon attributes his education at Indian Capital with helping him decide on a career path. "I didn't have much insight for what I really enjoyed and what I might be good at doing. I couldn't decide which science field to go into," Dillon said. "Career tech hooked me on electrical courses. That led to my degree and my career with NASA." He also attributes career tech for giving him a leg up on other college students because he already knew how to apply electrical concepts. "When I went to college, other students weren't as ready to wire a circuit as I was," Dillon said. "There, we heard how and why something works. But, the application I'd already had at vo-tech helped me to adapt to the theory I learned in college." First hired at the Lyndon Johnson Space Center in 1989 in the electrical, electronic, electro-mechanical (EEE) parts division, Dillon now manages a NASA module launch package. "This includes overseeing everything needed for a module assembly from quality control in computer chips, purchasing the right parts, reliability and meeting the overall mission needs," Dillon said. "We are responsible for delivery to the Kennedy Space Center and for all on-orbit operations until the next space station segment is launched." The 7A Module will be an airlock depression chamber for astronauts to prepare to go outside for Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), Dillon said. After the shuttle has left the space station, this module will seal itself off from the station, allowing astronauts to prepare for a space walk. The International Space Station is being built by a partnership including the United States, Russia, the European Space Agency, NASDA (Japan), and the Canadian Space Agency, over a period of five years. The space station's primary purpose is to be a world class, orbiting micro-gravity laboratory where research will be conducted to identify and develop new types of medicines, as well as highly sophisticated materials and processes for use in advanced electronics, structures, engines, and other products now and in the 21st Century. "Also, the lab is a stepping stone for experiments on the biological and physiological effects of microgravity for longer trips to places like Mars," Dillon said. "It will be used to determine the long-term effects of weightlessness on such things as calcium bone loss." The space station lab will also be an Earth observatory, checking out ozone problems and storm systems. Eventually, according to Dillon, scientists will be up there full-time to measure and keep records of Earth's atmosphere and ecosystem. "By 2004, the station will completely support a crew of seven," Ford said.
	posted 1/4/2001	Story by:Ann Houston-Wanger Communications and Marketing Email: ahous@okcareertech.org