A.2.2 NASA Balloon Managers
Debora Fairbrother
She is the Chief of the NASA Balloon Program Office (BPO), responsible for
management of NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program Office at NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center’s Wallops Flight Facility, and also the Columbia Scientific
Balloon Facility (CSBF), located in Palestine, Texas. CSBF is a NASA facility
operated through a contract with Orbital ATK, Inc.
Previously she was the Chief Technologist for the BPO. In that role she was
responsible for coordinating the advanced balloon technology projects. These
included materials development and testing, vehicle design and development,
structural analyses, performance modeling, and development of balloons for planetary science. Her tasks included leading the materials component of the superpressure balloon development, leading the testing of advanced films for balloons,
and leading the redesign of the 8,000 lb lift balloon.
Prior to joining NASA in 1999, she was the Vice-President of Engineering at
Winzen Engineering, Inc., a small balloon research and development company. At
Winzen she managed the technical activities which included the analysis of problems, both numerically and analytically, and the experimental collection of data
and its subsequent presentation to customers. Her projects during this time
included the Balloon Assisted Launch System (BALS), a high altitude tethered
balloon, a non-contacting optical method to measure strain in thin films, and a
heat seal flaw detector.
She attended Texas A&M University for her Bachelor of Science and Master of
Science Degrees in Mechanical Engineering. She is a Mercury 7 Scholar and an
Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In
addition she has received several NASA awards for her ballooning activities.
Appendix 2: Scientists and Engineers in Ballooning 275
Debora Fairbrother
She is the Chief of the NASA Balloon Program Office (BPO), responsible for
management of NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program Office at NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center’s Wallops Flight Facility, and also the Columbia Scientific
Balloon Facility (CSBF), located in Palestine, Texas. CSBF is a NASA facility
operated through a contract with Orbital ATK, Inc.
Previously she was the Chief Technologist for the BPO. In that role she was
responsible for coordinating the advanced balloon technology projects. These
included materials development and testing, vehicle design and development,
structural analyses, performance modeling, and development of balloons for planetary science. Her tasks included leading the materials component of the superpressure balloon development, leading the testing of advanced films for balloons,
and leading the redesign of the 8,000 lb lift balloon.
Prior to joining NASA in 1999, she was the Vice-President of Engineering at
Winzen Engineering, Inc., a small balloon research and development company. At
Winzen she managed the technical activities which included the analysis of problems, both numerically and analytically, and the experimental collection of data
and its subsequent presentation to customers. Her projects during this time
included the Balloon Assisted Launch System (BALS), a high altitude tethered
balloon, a non-contacting optical method to measure strain in thin films, and a
heat seal flaw detector.
She attended Texas A&M University for her Bachelor of Science and Master of
Science Degrees in Mechanical Engineering. She is a Mercury 7 Scholar and an
Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In
addition she has received several NASA awards for her ballooning activities.
Appendix 2: Scientists and Engineers in Ballooning 275