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Engineer successfully rises through shuttle program
By Kathy Hagood

As a young man living in Ashtabula, Pa., Mark Nappi had his eyes set on ocean engineering.

That’s why the associate program manager for ground operations for United Space Alliance at Kennedy Space Center decided to attend Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, renown for its ocean engineering program, to pursue a bachelors of science degree.
But while attending this university his attention was drawn to the emerging Space Shuttle program at KSC.

“It was a period of great excitement and the program seemed full of potential for a new graduate. … I saw the first ever Shuttle launch,” Nappi said remembering the launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981.

So when the oil industry took a dive and his chances for employment in that field were greatly reduced, Nappi went after an opening for an engineer in the Shuttle program. He didn’t get that job but he did land a position in Newport News, Va., as a mechanical engineer for aircraft carriers.

“Of course I missed Florida and still had the desire to work in the Shuttle program,” he said.

Then in 1985 he got his wish. Lockheed Martin hired him as an orbital mechanical systems engineer and he headed back to Florida. After about seven years as an engineer he had the opportunity to move into management, so he took it.

“Becoming a manager was the natural progression for an engineer just like if you were a kid growing up in New York, you’d want to be a Yankee. It was the next level,” he said.

He stayed with Lockheed Martin and progressed up the engineering career ladder until 1996 when United Space Alliance enlisted him to become director of safety, quality and mission assurance.

Later he became director of launch operations and director of Shuttle engineering for USA. He was asked to serve as deputy associate director for ground operations from November 2001 to June 2004 before assuming his current post.
As associate program manager for ground operations, Nappi is part of the senior USA management team that directs a workforce of more than 3,800 at KSC. Nappi coordinates Shuttle processing activities from landing through launch and manages ground operations facilities.

“One distinct advantage and positive aspect of my job is the people that I get to represent,” Nappi said. “It's hard to explain but this is the most positive and ‘can do’ attitude workforce that I have ever had the opportunity to watch or work with. Everyone that visits or works with these folks comments on this aspect when they leave. This workforce will do anything that you ask and keep a positive attitude during it all. They proven time and time again that nothing is impossible and the Shuttle Program and the astronauts’ safety is more important than anything else. It's really impressive to observe.”

Nappi attributes his successful rise through the Shuttle program to three ingredients.

The first, “working real hard” is something he could control.

The second element was the help he received from other people in the program who wanted to help him succeed and were willing to mentor him and foster his career.

“I couldn’t have done it without them,” he said.

And the final reason for his success he attributes to luck. “I was at the right place at the right time,” he said.

Nappi and his USA team are busy preparing Discovery for its upcoming launch on the STS-121 mission. The launch planning window has been set for July 1 to 19.

The mission is the second return to flight test mission following the Columbia accident and will ferry a third crewmember, European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Reiter, to the International Space Station. Leonardo, the multi-purpose logistics module, carrying two tons of supplies and equipment, will also be carried to the station.

In the short term Nappi’s management vision is to continue to improve safety and get the Shuttle back to a routine of launching five or six times a year.
“ The program performs best when we’re launching regularly,” he said.

Long term he wants to help his workforce prepare for the space program’s future, including processing new vehicles, including the Crew Exploration Vehicle, scheduled to fly by 2012. Although many skills will be directly transferable some training and retraining will be needed.

“ We’ve got an amazing workforce here and we need to plan for making the best use of our people who have served this program and the nation so well,” Nappi said.

When Nappi isn’t working he spends most of his time with his family, including his wife, Jana, and his sons, Corbin, 13, and Cameron, 10. The Merritt Island resident is active in his sons’ team sports and serves as a coach and an umpire.
Nappi also is an avid runner and recently ran his first marathon at Walt Disney World.

“It was a lesson for anything else in life. You can do it if you’re ready because you’ve prepared,” he said.