A University of Louisiana at Lafayette alumnus helping lead NASA’s return to the moon came back to campus Monday to share his journey from engineering student to a key role in the Artemis II mission.
Stephen Damico, a 1999 mechanical engineering graduate, is deputy system manager of NASA’s Orion Propulsion System at Johnson Space Center in Houston. During a lecture at the Student Union’s Bayou Bijou, he offered a behind-the-scenes look at a career that has included work on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station and Artemis programs.
His visit comes as UL Lafayette strengthens its role in aerospace research, education and workforce development. For decades, University researchers and alumni have contributed to satellite development, space exploration, life-support technologies and NASA missions, including Artemis II.
Dr. Ahmed Khattab, dean of the College of Engineering, traced Damico’s path from a first-generation college student in Lafayette to Boeing in California and, ultimately, NASA in Houston.
“He went all the way,” Khattab told the audience. “Almost like we say, ‘all the way to the moon and back.’”
For Damico, the path to human spaceflight began in Rougeou Hall.
As a student, he was active in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and served as co-captain of the Baja team, where students designed, built and competed with an off-road vehicle. Damico said the experience of managing a team, meeting hard deadlines and integrating complex systems helped prepare him for the work he does today.
“It was about integrating multiple systems together,” Damico said. “In a microcosm, that helped train me to do what I’m doing now.”
The scale of the work has changed considerably, he said.
“You’re building up a system over time to compete in something, and the greatest competition is going around the moon.”
Photo caption: Stephen Damico, deputy system manager of NASA’s Orion Propulsion System at Johnson Space Center in Houston and a UL Lafayette mechanical engineering graduate, speaks to students about his career during a lecture Tuesday at the University. (Photo credit: Doug Dugas / University of Louisiana at Lafayette)