NASA perfect fit for Clarkson grad

POTSDAM — Michael L. Sarafin has been looking to the skies since he was a child growing up on a farm outside Herkimer.

He eagerly read Charles E. Yeager's account of being the first pilot to break the sound barrier. He remembers "seeing, smelling and touching" the B-52 aircraft at air shows held at Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome.

He also recalls hearing about a co-op program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a student at Clarkson University.

"I figured, 'NASA? That sounds cool. I'll give it a shot. What's the worst they could say — no?'" Mr. Sarafin said. "I found out I was accepted."

Now he's one of only 73 flight directors in the 50 years since NASA has been sending people into space.

"I do feel privileged to be part of that," Mr. Sarafin said. "NASA really is an investment in America."

Likewise, the students he met when returning to his alma mater Friday have a stake in the future of both engineering and the space program, he said.

"It's really about the students and their efforts and ability to learn and grow," he said. "The students we're seeing here did the work on their own time. They went above and beyond the standard course load. They're developing skills and ability to relay information."

The 1994 Clarkson graduate returned to attend the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Regional Student Conference in the college's Snell Hall.

He served on a panel of judges as undergraduate and graduate students from across the Northeast competed for cash prizes and a chance to attend the national conference. Students attended from Clarkson; Princeton (N.J.) University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.; Cornell University, Ithaca, and Syracuse University.

"The fun part of engineering is taking a great new capability and making it happen," Mr. Sarafin said. "There is definitely anxiety when you're coming up to a mission, and it's the T minus 9 minutes and holding period, and you're sitting on four and a half million pounds of thrust. It's a real threat, but because you trained and worked as a team, that sense of fear is managed."

The co-op job Mr. Sarafin took at NASA while an undergraduate led to a position after graduation. He joined NASA in 1993 as a space shuttle software engineer, developing cockpit display and global positioning system navigation requirements. He became a guidance, navigation and control officer in 1995, supporting 30 shuttle flights in Mission Control, and was named a flight director in 2005.

His brother Jim also works at NASA, where he trains astronauts.

Mr. Sarafin offered some advice to engineering students: "Take advantage of the opportunities to develop your skills. Get out in the industry and take chances. Don't be afraid to explore things."

Big changes are on the horizon as NASA phases out its space shuttle program and launches the Constellation program — dubbed "Apollo on steroids" by some, Mr. Sarafin said — which will create a new generation of spacecraft to establish an outpost on the moon and lay the foundation for human exploration of Mars and beyond.

"We are definitely in a transition period," he said. "There are plenty of opportunities coming down the road."