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Extreme Heat in the Central US Expands to the East; Heavy Rains from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes

Dangerous, long-lasting heat remains across the Mid-South to Mid-Mississippi Valley, while heat expands into the Northeast for a brief period on Friday. Strong to isolated severe thunderstorms and heavy rain pose a flash flooding threat from from the southern High Plains east to the Great Lakes. Tropical Depression 12W brings heavy rain to Guam & the Marianas through Saturday. Read More >

Spaceflight Meteorology Group

National Center

SMG - About Our Office

Weather.gov > Spaceflight Meteorology Group > SMG - About Our Office

About Our Office

 

Thank you for visiting the NWS Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG).  The National Weather Service (known as the Weather Bureau before 1970) has provided direct weather support to NASA for the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle, International Space Station, Orion and other programs.  When the Manned Space Center opened in 1962 a contingent of the Weather Bureau came to Houston to provide spacecraft recovery weather support.  In the 1960's and 1970's, the Spaceflight Meteorology Branch (SMB) of the Weather Bureau and National Weather Service consisted of offices at the Johnson Space Center in Houston; Cape Canaveral, Florida; and at local offices in Miami, Honolulu and Washington DC.  In the late 1970's NASA allowed each center to select their weather support structures.  At that time the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) opted to use the US Air Force for launch and ground weather support services.  JSC retained the National Weather Service for landing weather support.

SMG staffing size has waxed and waned with the manned spaceflight program.  Current SMG staffing consists of one NWS meteorologist and a NASA meteorologist.   A small group of NASA software and hardware contractors manage the Meteorological Information Data Display System (MIDDS) which uses McIDAS for the core meteorological display and storage.  The NWS Houston/Galveston Office provides support for NWS-owned Advanced Weather Information Processing System II (AWIPS II) software and hardware.  

SMG supports all three crewed NASA programs to various degrees:

  • NASA Exploration Artemis program missions to Moon and back:  Forecasts for launch aborts and end-of-mission splashdown.
  • NASA Commercial Crew Program
    • Boeing CST-100 Starliner missions:  Launch abort and end-of-mission landings.
    • SpaceX crewed Dragon:  Launch abort Search-And-Rescue (SAR) risk assessment and other advice to NASA mission managers and flight controllers.  SpaceX and the 45th Weather Squadron provide the bulk of weather support for Dragon. 

 

Current SMG Staff

  • Tim Garner - Chief
  • Lance Belobrajdic - NASA meteorologist / forecaster

Adjunct Staff

  • Mark Keehn - Remote ITO (NWS HGX)
  • Bert Gordon - Remote ESA (NWS HGX)

Past SMG Staff and Staff Photos (links create popup window)

  • July 2013 - Michelle Kocen, Tim Garner and Frank Brody.
  • 2012 - Michelle Kocen, Tim Garner, Frank Brody and Tony Freeman
  • 2010 - [back row, L to R] Liz Barba, Brian Hoeth, Kurt Van Speybroeck, Mark Wiley, Frank Brody and Tim Oram.  [front row, L to R] Paul Wahner, Tammi Barreras, Doris Hood and Tim Garner.
  • July 2008 - [back row,L to R] Kurt Van Speybroeck, Doris Hood, Brian Hoeth, Tim Oram, Mark Wiley, Richard LaFosse, Frank Brody.  [front row, L to R] Victor Proton, Paul Wahner, Tammi Barreras and Tim Garner.
  • 2007 - [back row, L to R] Brian Hoeth, Doris Hood, Mark Wiley, Frank Brody, Kurt Van Speybroeck, Tim Oram.  [front row, L to R] Steve Early, Tammi Barreras, Richard Lafosse and Tim Garner.
  • 2005
  • 2004
  • 2004 with Deputy Secretary of Commerce Ted Kassinger
  • 1995

Incomplete List of Former SMGers

SMG Chiefs

  • Frank Brody  97 Space Shuttle missions
  • Gerald Rigdon
  • More to come

Lead Forecasters (Senior Meteorologists)

  • Tim Garner  92 Space Shuttle missions
  • Tim Oram 64 Space Shuttle missions
  • Mark Wiley  18 Space Shuttle missions
  • Kurt Van SpeyBroeck 18 Space Shuttle missions
  • Brian Hoeth  22 Space Shuttle missions
  • Karl Silverman  55 Space Shuttle missions
  • G. Wayne Baggett  76 Space Shuttle missions
  • Richard A. Lafosse   66 Space Shuttle missions
  • Steve Sokol  115 Space Shuttle missions
  • Dan G. Bellue  104 Space Shuttle missions
  • Jeff Tongue  12 Space Shuttle missions
  • Charles Morrill  44 Space Shuttle missions
  • Gene Hafele  39 Space Shuttle missions
  • Edward K. Hogan  34 Space Shuttle missions
  • Dennis Haller
  • Sylvia Graff
  • Senator Raygor
  • Richard Siler

Techniques Development Meteorologists

  • Doris Hood (Rotzoll) 110 Space Shuttle missions
  • Tim Oram
  • Brian Hoeth
  • Paul Wahner10 Space Shuttle missions at SMG
  • Victor Proton 9 Space Shuttle missions
  • Mark Keehn 43 Space Shuttle missions
  • Jim Keller
  • Laurie Hogan (Hermes)
  • Tim Garner
  • Edward K. Hogan
  • Scott Cunningham
  • Gene Norman (contractor)
  • Bryan Batson (contractor)
  • Steve Early (contractor)

Adminstrative Assistants, Coops and Students

  • Tammi Barreras, admin assistant
  • Monica Sowell, admin assistant
  • Joyce Montague, admin assistant
  • Linda Scott, admin assistant
  • Loraine Guillen, office education student
  • Pavlina Papadopolous, office education student
  • Liz Barba, office education student
  • Cara Heist, coop student meteorologist
  • Michelle Kocen, coop student meteorologist
  • Karen Shelton-Mur, coop student meteorologist
  • More to come

 Non-JSC SMG (SMB) Personnel

  • Charles Neumann
  • More to come