Peter Dohn earns Trio of Honors

Fuel Bleed Assessment Team

(L to R): Peter Dohn, Tim Duquette, Brendan Graham, Hunter Davis, Alex Ifkovits, Austin Jackson, Phin Jones, Elvis Popov, and Brian Goode.

Peter Dohn, a Space Launch Systems (SLS) Main Engine Systems Engineer for ESSCA at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), was the recipient of a rare “hat trick,” capturing a trio of awards for his engineering expertise.

On August 15, 2024, Peter earned a NASA Group Achievement Award for support to the Artemis I Fuel Bleed Assessment Team and a MSFC Group Achievement Honor Award for support to RS-25 Cold LOX Study Team, and earlier this year, he received a Jacobs Extra Miler for organizing and leading a tour for new employees and interns.

“During ground testing and launch attempts of Artemis I, there were persistent issues with the bleed temperature sensor on the fuel side of Engine 3,” said Peter. “Without this sensor functioning properly, it was not possible to verify the engine had received sufficient chill flow to start safely. I helped develop an alternative rationale for engine chill verification and helped prove that the engine was receiving adequate chill flow even if the sensor was not able to verify it.”

Regarding the MSFC honor, Peter and his teammates determined that allowing the RS-25 to start with colder LOX at its inlet would allow Boeing to save time and money during core stage assembly by requiring fewer feedline heaters to be installed.

“I performed analysis on previous test data to understand how quickly temperature transients would transit through the engine to allow the development of new ground test pre-start procedures in order to verify these new start conditions,” he said. “I also conducted research into historical tests to understand how engine bleed flow could be reduced to allow the ambient heating from the environment to take the place of some heaters.”

Peter received the Extra Miler award on Feb. 3, 2024, for being an exceptional tour guide.

“I’ve lead tours of engine hardware, both within Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, to familiarize new team members and interns, both contractors and civil servants, with the hardware systems they will be working on as well as the development process of those systems from the earliest rocket engines.

“I’m part of a large team of people who are always putting forward their best work,” he said. “I’m glad that we’re recognized for all of the hard work and effort that we contributed to the SLS program, but I also know that this team would and will work just as hard even if they never receive any acclaim.

“All that matters to me is helping to send humanity on its next great adventure. Watching Artemis II lift off to send humans back to the moon will be the only reward I’ll ever need.”

Cold LOX Study Team(L to R): RH Coates, Peter Dohn, Austin Jackson, Brian Goode, and Jay Dennis.

Peter provides a tour of MSFC and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.