Rohit Goeptar was born into a poor family in Suriname, South America,\u00a0the kind where both parents work three jobs and they still can only provide food and shelter for their family. At around age six, his family moved to California to start a new life. Only two years later, he moved back to South America with his father while his mother stayed in the\u00a0United States\u00a0and remarried. When he was 13,\u00a0he became a U.S. citizen and he and his brothers\u00a0returned to live with their mother in California.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At 19, Goeptar joined the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0Marine\u00a0Corps\u00a0where he spent six years as a technical operator. During one deployment to the Philippines,\u00a0Goeptar\u00a0helped set up communication\u00a0systems\u00a0for individuals\u00a0who\u00a0needed\u00a0to contact their loved ones after a typhoon ripped through entire towns.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lost, the Marine Corps gave me an opportunity,\u201d Goeptar recalled.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the Marines\u00a0taught\u00a0him useful skills, his life had not been the easiest. He lost not one, but two, fathers to suicide, and a short first marriage ended\u00a0with\u00a0him\u00a0being unhoused on the streets of Kissimmee, Florida,\u00a0for six months. But Goeptar eventually found his way.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
As with most underdog stories, there was another person in the shadows\u00a0behind his rise to success.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour brain works in mysterious ways,\u201d his now wife told him a short while after they met. She then filled out college applications for him,\u00a0and he eventually applied to NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While raising three kids, going to school full-time pursuing a computer engineering and electrical engineering degree simultaneously, Goeptar got the call that changed his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn spring 2025, I was driving to pick my son up from school when a gentleman from Kennedy calls, telling me he\u2019s seen my resume and do I have time for a quick interview,\u201d Goeptar recounted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pulled on the side of the road and took part in an impromptu job interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two weeks later, he had an in-person interview with others from Kennedy and two weeks after that, he had a contractor badge at America\u2019s premier spaceport.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
After starting as an intern under the\u00a0Expendable Launch Vehicle Integrated Support, or ELVIS, contract, then moving to part-time until he graduated from the University of Central Florida\u00a0(UCF)\u00a0in Orlando, then full-time at the beginning of\u00a02026,\u00a0Goeptar\u00a0was one of\u00a0the\u00a0ELVIS contractors who applied and were\u00a0picked up to become civil servants\u00a0recently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now an employee of NASA\u2019s Launch Services Program,\u00a0Goeptar\u00a0works with electromagnetic interference, electromagnetic compatibility, and radio frequency. It is his job throughout the entirety of the mission to analyze and ensure avionic boxes or anything electrically powered\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0interfere with any other systems. He also ensures independent systems are compatible when brought together. And finally, he conducts model\u00a0radio frequency\u00a0link analysis for different\u00a0rockets\u00a0and\u00a0science demonstrations\u00a0payloads. These may belong\u00a0to\u00a0NASA or commercial\u00a0partners, and he\u00a0is responsible for\u00a0ensuring\u00a0uninterrupted\u00a0communication with the ground. In his\u00a0short time\u00a0at Kennedy,\u00a0Goeptar\u00a0has worked on Sentinel-6B, JPSS-4\u00a0(Joint Polar Satellite System), and IMAP\u00a0(Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe)\u00a0missions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And as far as his wife\u2019s assessment that his brain works differently, he proved that within a year at Kennedy when he noticed an\u00a0analytical issue his team\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0tracking. Once a rocket launches, it does a pitch, yaw, and roll. The analysis the team had been conducting\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0account for this movement, which meant it\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0as\u00a0accurate\u00a0as it could be. He presented his solution to the\u00a0team lead,\u00a0and it now enables\u00a0NASA\u00a0data and partner data to be much more\u00a0in sync.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no greater feeling, being able to serve.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0more than serving the public,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0serving our country.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0serving the future of our country,\u201d\u00a0Goeptar\u00a0said with tears brimming in his eyes. \u201cBeing able to give back to that same government that gave me an opportunity to be where\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0at today.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no greater feeling than that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Goeptar\u2019s 11-year-old takes most of the credit for his landing at\u00a0the space center,\u00a0a NASA enthusiast, his son believes he spoke it into existence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day he wants to become an astronaut,\u201d\u00a0Goeptar\u00a0said\u00a0with joy on his face.\u00a0\u201cAnd I told him I will guide him until the day that I die.\u00a0Maybe my\u00a0last mission could be the one my son flies on.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0not going to stop until that day happens.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rohit\u2019s positive streak continues as he recently was accepted into electrical engineering master\u2019s programs at both Johns Hopkins University, and UCF.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Learn more about NASA\u2019s missions online:\u00a0<\/p>\n