What does it actually take to work at NASA?

Not as an astronaut.

Not as an engineer.

But as the person responsible for capturing history as it happens.

In this Space Week special episode of Books That Build Skills, Loxley Browne sits down with Eric Galler, a television producer and director who has worked behind the scenes filming rocket launches, astronaut interviews, and high-stakes NASA missions—including launches tied to the Artemis era of space exploration.Eric’s story is not a straight line.

It’s a layered, skill-stacked journey that starts in a Brooklyn high school focused on oceanography, winds through Hollywood film sets, Discovery Channel and Smithsonian documentaries, and ultimately lands at NASA Headquarters—after four years of persistence, rejection, and trying again .In this episode, you’ll discover:

• What it feels like to stand on site during a rocket launch—when the ground vibrates, the sound arrives late, and history has no rewind button
• How Eric went from marine biology labs and chemistry classes to producing space content seen around the world
• Why storytelling, communication, time management, and project planning are just as critical to NASA missions as science and engineering
• How creative skills learned in high school—band, photography, writing, building things—quietly became career-defining tools
• What persistence really looks like when breaking into one of the most competitive organizations on Earth

Eric also shares what most people never see:the daily NASA meetings with 200+ people across multiple space centers, the pressure of filming missions with zero margin for error, and the mindset required when you’re trusted to document moments that will be studied for decades .This episode is especially for:

• Students ages 8–14 exploring future careers
• Teens who love space, film, storytelling, or building things
• Parents who want to understand how skills grow over time
• Educators showing students that careers are built, not discovered

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🎯 Guest Website: https://www.ericgaller.com

🎯 Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericgaller

📚 About the Books Behind This Podcast

The Charms Book Series isn’t just a set of stories—it’s the foundation of everything you see on the Books That Build Skills podcast.Each book follows a curious teen inventor navigating real-world challenges using the same skills our podcast guests talk about—problem-solving, communication, leadership, resilience, and STEM thinking. The podcast shows kids who uses these skills in real life. The books let them practice those skills through story.

When kids read the books and watch the podcast together, learning sticks. Characters make choices, face consequences, and solve problems—just like the professionals you’re meeting in this episode. That’s why we say these are books that don’t just entertain… they build skills.📘

Explore the books, read along, and turn every episode into a real-life learning adventure.

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