Bill Todd
Encyclopedia
Bill Todd is Program Manager for Exploration Analogs at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas
. He has also served as a NASA
Undersea Research Team Project Lead and Spaceflight Training Simulation Supervisor at NASA JSC. In 2001, he commanded the first NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO
) mission, a joint NASA-NOAA program to study human survival in the Aquarius
underwater laboratory
in preparation for future space exploration
.
, where his father was also employed in the space program. It was there, at a young age, that he was immersed in and captivated by both sea
and space
environments. Todd graduated from the University of Houston
with a degree in geology
in 1982. He has worked in and visited numerous underwater habitat
s and submersible
s, and is interested in the parallels between living and working in outer space and "inner space".
at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. As a Simulation Supervisor in Spaceflight Training, Todd is responsible for developing and executing multi-national simulation
s used for training astronaut
s and flight control teams. He has also worked as an Operations Lead at the Mission Control Center in Moscow
, Russia
.
In 2000, Todd developed the NASA Undersea Research Team "NEEMO
" (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations). This program utilizes the Aquarius laboratory
as a research facility for space missions such as long-term space habitation. Todd served as an aquanaut
on the 2000 "NASA SEATEST" mission and as the commander of the October 2001 NASA NEEMO 1 mission. He subsequently managed the "topside" teams for NASA missions, and was the Mission Director for NEEMO 7, NEEMO 8 and NEEMO 14. As of 2011, Todd remains the project manager for NEEMO.
Todd was involved in the training for many spaceflights, including the first two flights to build the International Space Station, crew training for the deployment mission of the Italian
-made Tethered Satellite System and for the first flight to rendezvous with the Mir
Space Station
. Earlier in his career, Todd worked as a Space Shuttle
systems astronaut instructor for many missions including STS-31
, the flight which deployed the Hubble Space Telescope
. Todd also led the international training activities for STS-97
/ISS 4A, which flew in November 2000.
. Todd is a Professional Association of Diving Instructors
(PADI) Divemaster
who has made over 1000 dives. He is also an instrument-rated pilot
, seaplane
pilot and Explorers Club Fellow. Todd is a member of the SeaSpace Symposium and of the advisory board for the International Association for Handicapped Divers
. His hobbies are lawn work, boating
, diving
and skiing
with his family. He also plays guitar
in his rock band
, The Rockit Scientists.
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. He has also served as a NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Undersea Research Team Project Lead and Spaceflight Training Simulation Supervisor at NASA JSC. In 2001, he commanded the first NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO
NEEMO
NEEMO, an acronym for NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, is a NASA program for studying human survival in the Aquarius underwater laboratory in preparation for future space exploration....
) mission, a joint NASA-NOAA program to study human survival in the Aquarius
Aquarius (laboratory)
The NOAA Aquarius Reef Base is an underwater habitat located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, adjacent to Conch Reef. It is one of the few underwater research facilities in the world dedicated to science...
underwater laboratory
Underwater habitat
Underwater habitats are underwater structures in which people can live for extended periods and carry out most of the basic human functions of a 24-hour day, such as working, resting, eating, attending to personal hygiene, and sleeping...
in preparation for future space exploration
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
.
Education
Todd grew up watching the Apollo launches from his beachfront hometown of Cocoa Beach, FloridaCocoa Beach, Florida
Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,482 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates of 2008, the city had a population of 11,920...
, where his father was also employed in the space program. It was there, at a young age, that he was immersed in and captivated by both sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
and space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
environments. Todd graduated from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
with a degree in geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
in 1982. He has worked in and visited numerous underwater habitat
Underwater habitat
Underwater habitats are underwater structures in which people can live for extended periods and carry out most of the basic human functions of a 24-hour day, such as working, resting, eating, attending to personal hygiene, and sleeping...
s and submersible
Submersible
A submersible is a small vehicle designed to operate underwater. The term submersible is often used to differentiate from other underwater vehicles known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully autonomous craft, capable of renewing its own power and breathing air, whereas a submersible is...
s, and is interested in the parallels between living and working in outer space and "inner space".
NASA career
Todd works for United Space AllianceUnited Space Alliance
United Space Alliance is a spaceflight operations company. USA is a joint venture which was established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company , equally owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas and, employed approximately 8,800 people in Texas,...
at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. As a Simulation Supervisor in Spaceflight Training, Todd is responsible for developing and executing multi-national simulation
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
s used for training astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s and flight control teams. He has also worked as an Operations Lead at the Mission Control Center in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
In 2000, Todd developed the NASA Undersea Research Team "NEEMO
NEEMO
NEEMO, an acronym for NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, is a NASA program for studying human survival in the Aquarius underwater laboratory in preparation for future space exploration....
" (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations). This program utilizes the Aquarius laboratory
Aquarius (laboratory)
The NOAA Aquarius Reef Base is an underwater habitat located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, adjacent to Conch Reef. It is one of the few underwater research facilities in the world dedicated to science...
as a research facility for space missions such as long-term space habitation. Todd served as an aquanaut
Aquanaut
An Aquanaut is any individual who remains underwater, exposed to the ambient pressure, long enough to come into equilibrium with his or her breathing media. Usually this is done in an underwater habitat on the seafloor for a period equal to or greater than 24 continuous hours without returning to...
on the 2000 "NASA SEATEST" mission and as the commander of the October 2001 NASA NEEMO 1 mission. He subsequently managed the "topside" teams for NASA missions, and was the Mission Director for NEEMO 7, NEEMO 8 and NEEMO 14. As of 2011, Todd remains the project manager for NEEMO.
Todd was involved in the training for many spaceflights, including the first two flights to build the International Space Station, crew training for the deployment mission of the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-made Tethered Satellite System and for the first flight to rendezvous with the Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
Space Station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
. Earlier in his career, Todd worked as a Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
systems astronaut instructor for many missions including STS-31
STS-31
STS-31 was the thirty-fifth mission of the American Space Shuttle program, which launched the Hubble Space Telescope astronomical observatory into Earth orbit...
, the flight which deployed the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
. Todd also led the international training activities for STS-97
STS-97
STS-97 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. The crew installed the first set of solar arrays to the ISS, prepared a docking port for arrival of the Destiny Laboratory Module, and delivered supplies for the station's crew.-Crew:-Mission...
/ISS 4A, which flew in November 2000.
Personal
Todd's wife, Karen, and their two daughters, Kristen and Kari, reside in Seabrook, TexasSeabrook, Texas
Seabrook is a city in Harris county, with some water surface area located within Chambers county in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 9,443 at the 2000 census....
. Todd is a Professional Association of Diving Instructors
Professional Association of Diving Instructors
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors is the world's largest recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson...
(PADI) Divemaster
Divemaster
A Divemaster is a diving qualification used throughout most of the world in scuba diving for a diver who has overall responsibility for a group of divers...
who has made over 1000 dives. He is also an instrument-rated pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
pilot and Explorers Club Fellow. Todd is a member of the SeaSpace Symposium and of the advisory board for the International Association for Handicapped Divers
International Association for Handicapped Divers
The International Association for Handicapped Divers is a non-profit organization with its headquarters in Middenmeer, the Netherlands. The organization was established in 1993, with the aim to promote, develop and conduct programs for the training in scuba diving of people with a disability...
. His hobbies are lawn work, boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
, diving
Underwater diving
Underwater diving is the practice of going underwater, either with breathing apparatus or by breath-holding .Recreational diving is a popular activity...
and skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
with his family. He also plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
in his rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
, The Rockit Scientists.