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On Saturday, May 30, 2020, SpaceX made history as the first commercial aerospace company to launch NASA astronauts into space. On the ground in Cape Canaveral, Fla., many men and women stood in NASA鈥檚 Launch Control Center to support the crew.

Ronald C. Moomaw, D.O., a member of the first graduating class of physicians of 51社区鈥檚 Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, was one of them. He is a psychiatrist and flight surgeon for NASA鈥檚 Johnson Space Center and was a first responder for the launch at Kennedy Space Center (KSC).  

鈥淚 was the only psychological support,鈥� Moomaw said. 鈥淪o, I was available to the astronauts, flight surgeons, family, to literally anybody in the center.鈥� 

He was in strict quarantine since March 10 due to the pandemic in preparation for travel to KSC to support the mission. 鈥淚鈥檓 kind of like psychological duct tape; if they need something to fix, I just stick to it,鈥� Moomaw said. 鈥淭here is no expectation because there are all kinds of mishaps, from minor to major. Just sitting and waiting for the launch is intense.鈥� 

Moomaw鈥檚 duties with astronauts do not end on launch day; every two weeks, he will do a private psychological conference to check in with the astronauts while they are aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

鈥淭his launch was unique because it is the beginning of the new era,鈥� he said. The two NASA astronauts were the first to be launched into space from the United States since the end of the space shuttle program, with the last flight being STS-135 in 2011. 

Not only was Moomaw available for support for the SpaceX Demo (DMS2) mission, he was also there for the last shuttle flight of STS-135. Moomaw was involved in the launch and landing procedures for many of the final space shuttle missions, including STS-128 and STS-130 through 135. 

鈥淚ncidentally, Astronaut Doug Hurley was pilot on STS-135 and the commander for SpaceX Crew Flight, the first manned flight from the United States since that time,鈥� Moomaw noted. 鈥淒uring shuttle missions, I had a console seat with headphones and the whole thing 鈥�  it was pretty cool.鈥� 

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Moomaw was hired by NASA initially for pre-flight, flight, and post-flight care of the astronauts and their families. Additionally, he has a range of specialties, including astronaut selections. He has been a part of three previous astronaut selections, with the current one ongoing. 

鈥淪election of astronauts will be completed in 2021 and more than 12,000 have applied to join NASA鈥檚 next class of astronauts. Between eight to 12 people will be chosen from this group and the importance is that this may be the class that goes to Mars,鈥� Moomaw said. 鈥淚 do the training for the other psychiatrists so that we are all standardized and then we participate in the selection process, which is a lot of fun.鈥� 

Moomaw is also a professor at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, and also works with NASA on managing fatigue. 

鈥淭he idea of fatigue management is to understand the individual鈥檚 need for sleep, their appetite, their resilience, and how they respond to medications and other mitigating factors for fatigue. We鈥檙e trying to create an idiosyncratic treatment plan that applies to the individual,鈥� Moomaw said.

As a member of the Heritage College鈥檚 graduating class of 1980, Moomaw has continued to be involved with the University. He was the Heritage College鈥檚 commencement speaker in 2016, and he also participated virtually in the college鈥檚 40th anniversary celebration. 

Moomaw credits his education and support from the medical school as having prepared him for his diverse medical career. 

鈥淚 was actually much better prepared than my peers,鈥� Moomaw said. 鈥淚 did a general rotating internship prior to going into psychiatry and I became a flight surgeon for the Air Force; being a D.O. gave me a broader perspective in providing care as a USAF Flight Surgeon. [The Heritage College] was the reason that I鈥檝e had an incredible medical career.鈥�