Penn State alums Tara Dulaney Ritsko and Maggie Atkinson work for ASRC Federal and began collaborating in September 2022 on a project to extend the life of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES), which provided data supporting weather forecasting, climate research, and global search-and-rescue tracking.
Their work supported the three remaining POES spacecraft as a pathfinder for cost savings and operational efficiencies in a cloud architecture environment from the locally hosted hardware and software systems. The spacecraft were decommissioned in the summer of 2025, but the duo’s work was instrumental in converting what used to be manual, labor-intensive operations into a process that is automated, relies on cloud computing for data storage and distribution, and allows private companies to develop technology that helps safeguard property and lives in the face of extreme weather.
More importantly, their professional collaboration has led to a lifelong friendship. Dulaney Ritsko ’04 Eng and Atkinson had both been working for ASRC for several years when a mutual mentor suggested they work together on the POES program. At the time, Dulaney Ritsko was supporting NASA’s space communications; Atkinson ’98 Eng had spent nearly three decades managing NOAA satellites. They instantly connected over Penn State—and, over time, learned their respective skill sets were a good match.
“I’m process- and efficiency-based,” says Dulaney Ritsko. “I love to problem-solve. That’s one of the great things that you learn in engineering. You try things and see if they work.” She joined NASA, she says, after working in software development and product management, to infuse “a startup mentality into big government.”
Atkinson’s path to space started in fifth grade when the space shuttle Challenger blew up shortly after takeoff. “At that point, I basically said, ‘I don’t want that to happen again,’” Atkinson recalls. “That’s what got me into space, and my love of math, which led me to pursue aerospace engineering.” —Andy Faught
