Husband.
Father.
Grandfather.
Space Cadet.
Hi! I’m Roger Balettie.
Thanks for popping in for a quick look around.
This website has evolved over the years, originally hosted on AOL back in the days of dial-up internet access! Eventually, I moved onto my own domain and hand-crafted HTML. I also transferred the site to WordPress and the Divi theme as my starting points.
I’ve updated the parts and pieces over time, but the core bits have always been there and really define who I am.
I’ve been blessed to travel to many places around the world, I’ve taken lots of photos from so many events, and I’ve always been proud of my former career and ongoing life-long passion for manned spaceflight exploration.
Most importantly, though, I’m a proud father to two great kids, father-in-law to their spouses, and OVERLY PROUD Grandpa to my little buddy, Cole, and my new little princess, Shiloh!
What else can I tell you about myself?
I’m a Longhorn… a proud graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering. I’m sure that if you cut me, I’d bleed burnt orange. 🙂
I’ve had two significantly different career segments. After graduating with my Bachelor’s Degree, I started my first career in my dream job at NASA. I wanted to be an astronaut, but my mild color-blindness issue prevented that. I did, however, find myself as the next best thing – a Flight Dynamics Officer in the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center!
I went on to earn my Master’s Degree in Physical/Space Science from the University of Houston, Clear Lake.
Since leaving NASA, my second career has allowed me to exploit my love of software development and computer technology and combine that with the leadership skills and experience I gained in the MCC. While I did not serve in the military, I now have more than 20 years of Program and Project Management leadership roles. I spent a great deal of time devoted to supporting our Warfighters by leading and being part of numerous teams developing and fielding critical software capabilities that meet nationally-defined objectives. Since then, I’ve worked both commercial and State of Texas government projects. Each of them have been challenging, interesting, and I’ve made number of good friends!
I also started my own company, Balettie Consulting, Inc., and I am fortunate to continue to expand my career goals while having more direct control of my own destiny.
