OHIO Alum, NASA psychiatrist a part of historic SpaceX launch

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’s Launch Control Center to support the crew.

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

“I was the only psychological support,” Moomaw said. “So, I was available to the astronauts, flight surgeons, family, to literally anybody in the center.” 

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

Moomaw’s 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).

“This launch was unique because it is the beginning of the new era,” 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. 

“Incidentally, 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,” Moomaw noted. “During shuttle missions, I had a console seat with headphones and the whole thing –  it was pretty cool.” 

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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. 

“Selection of astronauts will be completed in 2021 and more than 12,000 have applied to join NASA’s 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,” Moomaw said. “I 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.” 

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

“The idea of fatigue management is to understand the individual’s need for sleep, their appetite, their resilience, and how they respond to medications and other mitigating factors for fatigue. We’re trying to create an idiosyncratic treatment plan that applies to the individual,” Moomaw said.

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

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

“I was actually much better prepared than my peers,” Moomaw said. “I 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’ve had an incredible medical career.”