Kerrie Flanigan:
CLASS OF 1985
Lompoc High SchoolClass of 1985
Lompoc, CA
University of PhoenixClass of 2003
Phoenix, AZ
Brevard Community CollegeClass of 2000
Cocoa, FL
Lompoc Valley Middle SchoolClass of 1981
Lompoc, CA
Clarence Ruth Montessori SchoolClass of 1979
Lompoc, CA
Kerrie's Story
Divorced. No kids. Dogs and cats. Live on the beach. Quality Inspector on the shuttles. Head to CA a few times a year. Got my BS degree in Business Management in 2000. Decided to take the summer off before going for my masters. Still haven't gone back to school.
I'm actually working on my Black Belt in Lean 6 Sigma, so I'll consider that my master's. Update: I am now a certified Black Belt! Woo-hoo!
When I hired in with USA, I thought I was going to be working on the launch pads. Actually, I was way too intimidated to even ask. As long as I was working on the orbiter, I was happy. Turns out I was hired as a tile inspector. Good thing, too. I had never been close to the damn thing and this gave me the opportunity to learn the company and the way things were done. My first day with them, I showed up three hours late because I got lost. I'd never been on the space center before.
When I finally got to where I was supposed to be, I was walked into the high bay where Discovery was and my new supervisor said "And here's the shuttle". I looked around. All I saw was platforms...Expand for more
and a black ceiling. I looked at him and asked him where the shuttle was. The black ceiling was the underside of it! Man, did I feel stupid. :)
The Pee Tube Story:
After a year in tile, I applied for and got a job with Vertical Processing as an orbiter inspector. This is what I had been wanting. I'd get to work at the pads and the VAB. I'd be important. Heck, in my mind, I'd get to light the fires under the boosters with a match. That's how important my job was going to be.
The first day that I actually got to work on a job by myself was in the crew compartment where the astronauts hung out/worked. Where all the really cool stuff happened. The job was titled something like "Waste Collection System Pipe Removal and Repair". Finally! I was doing something I had only dreamed about. Those astronauts will know me now, I thought. Because of this, I'll be asked to join the astronaut ranks!
What I did was remove a clear plastic vacuum tube that was used (still had urine in it) and replace it with a new one.
One good thing came from it. I did get to sit on the toilet. :)
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