Bringing Signals to NASA

At Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, Eric Fernandez stands in front of Building 836, where he performs work as a telemetry engineer for NASA. NASA/Brandon Satterthwaite Growing up on the central California coast, watching rocket launches with his father was part of Eric Fernandez’s childhood routine. Fernandez had posters of rockets on the wall, but despite being fascinated by them, he never imagined one day this would be his career. Because both of his grandparents had served at Vandenberg Air Force Base (later renamed to Vandenberg Space Force Base), he assumed that the launches from there were for the military. NASA didn’t cross his mind. The space agency seemed very far away from a place like Orcutt, California, a small town situated among rolling hills covered with farms and vineyards. Fernandez had been part of a painting crew for several years after high school. While it paid the rent, it wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. However, he found something he enjoyed. He had started at his future father-in-law’s appliance store, working as a technician, repairing and installing appliances. He excelled at the work and planned to stay there with the goal to eventually run the small business. Then he got a call. It was from a friend about an opening for something called telemetry. Fernandez wasn’t sure what that meant. He was happy with his current career path. He nearly declined the offer, but after some persuading, he decided to go for the interview at a NASA building on the military base. “I walked in the telemetry lab, and I see oscilloscopes, screens with squiggly lines, lots of blinking lights, and things I didn’t know about at the time,” Fernandez recounted. “I was very curious about it, so I was asking a million questions as we toured the lab, and they were asking about me. They really liked my background, especially my electronics experience, my troubleshooting skills, and my ability to solder.” He received an offer for a technician position