Listen to this audio excerpt from Rebekah Tolatovicz, a mechanical technician lead supporting the Orion spacecraft’s main contractor Lockheed Martin:

At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, there is a fleet of Orion spacecraft in work, and Rebekah Tolatovicz’s hands have helped build each one. Tolatovicz works to build, integrate, and test the spacecraft used during the Artemis II test flight, as well as those designed to carry humanity to the Moon on future Artemis missions.

Tolatovicz is a mechanical technician lead for the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, or ASRC Federal, supporting the Orion spacecraft’s main contractor Lockheed Martin. A typical day for Tolatovicz takes place inside NASA Kennedy’s Operations and Checkout Building, with Orion assembly and testing. Her work ranges from helping coordinate and lead technicians, to jumping into hands-on installations on components like hatches and engines, to collaborating with the engineering team.

“What I really like about the area that I’m in is we do so much,” said Tolatovicz. “From starting with the bare structure and installing giant parts and titanium pieces, to final integration where you’re installing the tiniest little components. I think that’s the coolest part. We don’t do just one technical thing — it’s all the technical things.”

Tolatovicz currently works on the Orion crew modules that could sustain the astronauts on future Artemis missions, and she played a large role in work on the Artemis II spacecraft that carried four astronauts on a mission around the Moon, splashing down April 10. This included testing, integration, and final installation and closeout before the spacecraft was prepared for fueling and stacking on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.

As Artemis II was the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis program, Tolatovicz recognized the impact of her work.

Tolatovicz, who began as an intern with Lockheed Martin through Eastern Florida State College’s aerospace technician program, knows what it’s like to be a newcomer. She had been mentored by technicians who worked through the space shuttle era, which largely shaped her experience and outlook.

“At first I didn’t think I was going to make it,” said Tolatovicz. “But if you come in with a good attitude and want to learn — there’s so much you can learn from these guys, they have decades of knowledge to share. Once I got down on the floor and was working with them hands-on, I knew I could figure it out.”

Tolatovicz has been working on the Orion program for nine years. Since then, the Maine native has witnessed her work come to fruition on Orion’s uncrewed Artemis I test flight as well as the Artemis II mission around the Moon.

“It’s really amazing for me to be a part of NASA’s history and the next step,” said Tolatovicz. “I just really love my job, the team, and working through challenges. You don’t think about it when you’re putting things on, but then you get to tell somebody else that you installed the thrusters for the spacecraft, and you realize — man, that’s pretty cool.”