Alicia C. Mendoza-Hill

Alicia Mendoza-Hill is a mission manager (MM) in the Flight Projects Office of the Launch Services Program (LSP) at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MM is the primary spacecraft customer interface and is responsible for the management of the launch services, integration, and launch vehicle engineering aspects of their assigned missions. As MM, she also leads the Mission Integration Team (MIT) which ensures that the mission will be launched successfully into its required orbit, on time and within budget.

Experience

Prior to transferring to LSP in 2011, Mendoza-Hill was the NASA vehicle manager for the external tank (ET) and solid rocket boosters (SRB) within the Operations Integration Branch of the Launch Vehicle Processing Directorate for the Space Shuttle Program. She was responsible for managing all NASA activities associated with the processing of the ET, SRBs, and Mobile Launch Platform at Kennedy for every space shuttle mission. This included coordination of prelaunch operations, launch and recovery activities with the Kennedy management, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) shuttle program elements, and NASA contractors. She was also responsible for evaluating, planning and integrating all element deliveries, operational requirements and resource availability for all ET and SRB operations for both near-term and long-range manifest schedules.

Mendoza-Hill joined NASA in 2000 as an industrial engineer (IE) in Space Shuttle Processing. Her responsibilities included the study manager for the Space Shuttle Program Industrial Engineering for Safety Program and the IE representative for the OV-103 Orbiter Major Modification Team. She also managed contractor IE and human factors engineering projects. 

From 2003 to 2008, she served as a NASA vehicle processing engineer for the external tank and solid rocket boosters, as well as for the orbiters Discovery and Endeavour. She led the processing teams in the planning, developing, coordinating and directing of all processing activities required to support vehicle prelaunch, launch and landing associated with assigned space shuttle missions.

Awards

Throughout her career at NASA, Mendoza-Hill has received numerous group achievement and performance awards, as well as multiple Space Flight Awareness (SFA) Team Awards, a Kennedy Launch Vehicle Processing Superior Achievement Award, Kennedy Certificate of Commendation, Kennedy Exceptional Achievement Medal, and a Space Flight Awareness Silver Snoopy.

Education

Born and raised in Miami, Fla., after her parents migrated from Cuba in 1969, Mendoza-Hill graduated from Coral Gables High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial and systems engineering from Florida International University, Miami, Fla., in 1995, followed by a Master of Science in space systems from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Fla., in 2003.

Personal

As a member of the NASA team, Mendoza-Hill finds great pleasure in coming to work every day knowing that she plays an integral role in improving our life here on Earth as we explore and develop technologies and life-saving capabilities in space. In her “spare” time, she keeps active with volleyball, swimming, softball, surfing, sprint triathlon training, rollerblading, bowling, weightlifting, and Cuban cooking.

Biography last updated March 2017