How a SoCal native became one of NASA's most valuable assets

One of NASA’s astir invaluable assets is simply a Southern Californian.

Following the abstraction agency’s palmy Artemis II ngo astir the satellite past month, Victor Glover — who grew up chiefly successful the Inland Empire and has spent overmuch of his vocation astatine Southern California’s galore subject and aerospace hubs — is present the lone aviator to person flown NASA’s Orion capsule.

As the unit finishes its planetary triumph thigh earlier the media, Glover is preparing to enactment his caput down and get to enactment grooming the Artemis procreation of moon-faring astronauts.

“I deliberation Artemis is going to request america to alteration the paradigm,” helium told The Times.

The International Space Station, which has been continuously inhabited by a revolving unit of astronauts successful debased Earth orbit for implicit 25 years, has a “very well-worn” grooming program, helium said. But processing a caller instructional regimen for analyzable high-stakes satellite missions arsenic the bureau tries to aggressively ramp up Artemis launches from erstwhile each 3 1/2 years to each six months is simply a antithetic beast.

“Until we get truly ramped up and person a coagulated grooming program, I deliberation astronauts request to instrumentality much ownership of the grooming and beryllium progressive truthful we tin stock this experience,” Glover said.

As of today, the database of Artemis astronauts is lone 4 radical long. And the database of Artemis pilots has lone 1 name: Victor Glover.

Glover, 50, was calved successful Pomona, graduated from Ontario High School and lived “all over” Southern California’s municipality sprawl, including Baldwin Village (which helium instinctively referred to by its pre-1988 name, “The Jungle”). He completed his undergraduate studies astatine Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and received postgraduate degrees (plural) from the Naval Postgraduate School successful Monterey and the Air Force Test Pilot School astatine Edwards Air Force Base.

He chopped his teeth arsenic a trial aviator astatine Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, successful the Mojave. After NASA selected him arsenic an astronaut, helium learned to alert SpaceX’s Dragon capsule astatine the company’s then-headquarters successful Hawthorne earlier riding it to the ISS.

Glover peculiarly misses those trial aviator days, erstwhile helium was pushing the limits of the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet successful China Lake portion completing a master’s grade connected the side.

“That was really possibly 1 of the champion times of my career. We had our 4th girl portion we lived successful China Lake,” helium said. “I was ... moving truly hard but having a ton of amusive astatine a location afloat of kids.”

In 1 of Glover’s favourite pictures, snapped by his wife, helium is sitting astatine his table successful his tan godforsaken formation suit, focused connected postgraduate schoolhouse enactment portion holding 1 of his daughters.

Glover sees himself arsenic conscionable 1 illustration of however the Golden State’s deserts and coastal cities person near a lasting people connected America’s abstraction program.

“Southern California is precise uniquely postured to assistance NASA,” Glover said. “Southern California has the operation of civilization and exertion — and it doesn’t wounded to person Hollywood” to assistance stock NASA’s ngo and values.

(Glover fondly recalled his joyousness seeing the “Iron Man” accumulation crew, including histrion and rapper Terrence Howard, rotation done Edwards Air Force Base during his tenure.)

Glover, who present lives successful Texas adjacent NASA’s Johnson Space Center, is focused connected bringing that SoCal sensibility and invaluable acquisition piloting the Orion capsule to the agency’s astronaut grooming program.

When asked if helium hopes to alert again connected an Artemis mission, helium gave a elemental answer: “No.”

There was 1 different happening connected his to-do list, though.

“Tell L.A. I emotion them and each of Southern California — and I can’t hold to get backmost retired determination and sojourn my location authorities and my hometown.”