Doug Parkinson leads SLS launch integration and mission operations at NASA

Doug Parkinson serves as NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lead for Launch Integration and Mission Operations at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. He guides engineers who monitor the rocket during testing, pre-launch, and launch activities; he joined NASA in 1999 and moved to the SLS program in 2012.

Parkinson, who grew up in Wisconsin and followed his father into mechanical engineering, studied at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He said he had planned on working in computer technologies or on cars until an opportunity at the university’s Propulsion Research Center led him to study new propulsion technologies.

“It ended up being a lot of fun and very educational. It was in cutting edge technologies that really inspired me,” he said. At Marshall, Parkinson helped develop advanced liquid rocket engines including the Fastrac and the J-2X, with the J-2X described as an advanced development of the upper stage engine used on the Saturn V.

He said the test operations experience he gained in propulsion translated well into his later role: “That translated well into my new role as operations lead for the stages element.” He also serves as one of the SLS Engineering Support Center managers, helping oversee and train the SLS Engineering Support Team responsible for monitoring the rocket’s systems.

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