Goddard Engineering and Technology Directorate

Technicians lift the mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope using a crane at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Mechanical engineering and integration technician Ivan Pratt installs brackets onto the static load testing platform in preparation of an OSAM-1 ground support equipment proof test at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Md., July 19, 2023. NASA/Mike Guinto
Engineers Josh Yacobucci (left) and Scott Hesh test fit a science sensor sub-payload into a Black Brant sounding rocket at Wallops.
An image of the PACE technology in a MESA lab at Goddard.
A woman in a long-sleeved red jacket and blue gloves leans over a shiny rectangular spacecraft. The spacecraft sits on a circular platform covered in wires. To the left of her is a man in a blue long-sleeved jacket and gloves. He’s looking down at something out of frame. They are observed by a third man in a blue jacket. Behind them stretches a lab space with white walls, ductwork in the ceiling, and a variety of lab equipment.
Lifting James Webb Space Telescope

ETD is building the future.

The NASA Goddard Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD)

Where engineering and science partner to build the systems of tomorrow, today.

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Mechanical Engineering and Integration Technician

ETD is building the future.

The NASA Goddard Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD)

Where engineering and science partner to build the systems of tomorrow, today.

Learn More
Black Brant Sounding Rocket Testing

ETD is building the future.

The NASA Goddard Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD)

Where engineering and science partner to build the systems of tomorrow, today.

Learn More
PACE in a MESA Lab

ETD is building the future.

The NASA Goddard Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD)

Where engineering and science partner to build the systems of tomorrow, today.

Learn More
BurstCube Thermal Vacuum Test

ETD is building the future.

The NASA Goddard Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD)

Where engineering and science partner to build the systems of tomorrow, today.

Learn More
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Technicians lift the mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope using a crane at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Mechanical engineering and integration technician Ivan Pratt installs brackets onto the static load testing platform in preparation of an OSAM-1 ground support equipment proof test at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Md., July 19, 2023. NASA/Mike Guinto
Engineers Josh Yacobucci (left) and Scott Hesh test fit a science sensor sub-payload into a Black Brant sounding rocket at Wallops.
An image of the PACE technology in a MESA lab at Goddard.
A woman in a long-sleeved red jacket and blue gloves leans over a shiny rectangular spacecraft. The spacecraft sits on a circular platform covered in wires. To the left of her is a man in a blue long-sleeved jacket and gloves. He’s looking down at something out of frame. They are observed by a third man in a blue jacket. Behind them stretches a lab space with white walls, ductwork in the ceiling, and a variety of lab equipment.
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Building what has never been built before,
to discover the unknown.

At Goddard, the ETD supports missions, builds satellites and instruments, operates and controls spacecrafts and acquires and distributes data to the world-wide science community. The ETD’s data products are used to conduct research in Earth and space sciences that benefit the nation and the world.

Graphic for the cover of NASA's Fiscal Year 2025 budget request, showing an artist's view of the Earth's horizon and atmosphere from space, the Moon, Mars and a field of stars.

Expanding Engineering Boundaries

Expanding today’s engineering boundaries through the application of emerging technologies to develop high-performance, cost-effective solutions to the most challenging problems.

End-to-end Science Mission Operation

The Engineering & Technology Directorate designs missions, builds satellites, develops instruments, and operates spacecrafts, in addition to acquiring and distributing scientific data globally.

Multidisciplinary Engineering Expertise

Provides multidisciplinary engineering expertise for the development of cutting-edge science and exploration systems and technologies.

Mission Driven Capabilities

Engineering supports a diverse range of space flight activities. ETD teams work together across disciplines to ensure missions are successful technically and we deliver on our commitments.

Enabling NASA’s Mission

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Greenbelt campus is home to the nation’s largest organization of scientists, engineers and technologists who conceive, design and build new technology to study the solar system and universe.


  • The largest organization at Goddard is the Engineering and Technology Directorate. It is home to approximately 1,300 civil servants and 2,000 contractors who provide multidisciplinary engineering expertise to critical NASA missions. 
  • The ETD’s areas of expertise include advanced technology, hands-on experience for successfully executing space science missions, and a world-class systems engineering approach.
  • At Goddard, it all begins and ends with science. We derive and share information, solutions, and technology for the benefit of all NASA, the Nation, and the World.

Our Work

The Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD) is the engine that powers Goddard. ETD provides multi-disciplinary engineering expertise for the development of cutting-edge science and exploration systems and technologies in the following areas: Earth Science, Astrophysics, Solar System, Heliophysics and Exploration. In addition, ETD acquires and distributes science data worldwide.

Artist rendering of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
Astrophysics

Roman Space Telescope

PACE's primary sensor, Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), Engineering Test Unit (ETU) rolls into the TVAC chamber.
Earth

PACE

Artist's rendering of NOAA's GOES-T, which will provide coverage of the western U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, the eastern and central Pacific Ocean to New Zealand. (Image credit: NOAA)
Earth

GOES-U

DAVINCI Probe Descending
Solar System

DAVINCI

ETD Featured Stories

Explore featured stories, engineering news and information from leadership teams, the ETD’s work, education programs and outreach.

More ETD Featured Stories

Carissa Arillo: Testing Spacecraft, Penning the Owner’s Manuals

Flight operations engineer Carissa Arillo helped ensure one of the instruments on NASA’s PACE mission made it successfully through its prelaunch testing. She and her group also documented the work rigorously, to ensure the flight team had a comprehensive manual to...
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Matthew Kowalewski: Aerospace Engineer and Curious About Everything

Matthew Kowalewski describes himself as “curious about too many things,” but that curiosity comes in handy when engineering instrumentation scheduled to soar through the atmosphere of a moon of Saturn. What do...
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Systems Engineer Noosha Haghani Prepped PACE for Space

Throughout the life cycles of missions, Goddard engineer Noosha Haghani has championed problem-solving and decision-making to get to flight-ready projects. What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? As the PACE deputy mission...
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Leaders in Lidar Series

In this series, we dive into the legacy of Goddard's lead role in developing laser altimetry, which has revolutionized the way we map our planet, the Moon and other planets. Each chapter looks at the successes and failures of these lidar instruments, beginning with the Mars Observer Laser Altimeter in the late 1980s...
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NASA’s Mini BurstCube Mission Detects Mega Blast

The shoebox-sized BurstCube satellite has observed its first gamma-ray burst, the most powerful kind of explosion in the universe, according to a recent analysis of observations collected over the last several months. “We’re excited to collect science data,” said Sean...
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Aaron Vigil Helps Give SASS to Roman Space Telescope

The stars in the big Wyoming skies inspired Aaron Vigil as a child to dream big. Today, he’s a mechanical engineer working on the Solar Array Sun Shield (SASS) for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at Goddard. What do you do and what is most interesting about your...
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Goddard Facilities