The John F. Kennedy Space Center,located on Merritt Island,Florida,is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since 1968,KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight,research,and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo,Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida,KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together,share resources,and operate facilities on each other's property.
Sally Kristen Ride was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles,she joined NASA in 1978,and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space,after cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982. She was the youngest American astronaut to have flown in space,having done so at the age of 32.
The Rogers Commission Report was written by a Presidential Commission charged with investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster during its 10th mission,STS-51-L. The report,released and submitted to President Ronald Reagan on June 9,1986,determined the cause of the disaster that took place 73 seconds after liftoff,and urged NASA to improve and install new safety features on the shuttles and in its organizational handling of future missions.
Pamela Ann Melroy is an American retired United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut serving as the deputy administrator of NASA. She served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions STS-92 and STS-112 and commanded mission STS-120 before leaving the agency in August 2009. After serving as deputy program manager of Space Exploration Initiatives with Lockheed Martin,Melroy joined the Federal Aviation Administration in 2011,where she was a senior technical advisor and director of field operations for the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan is an American geologist,oceanographer,and former NASA astronaut and US Navy officer. She was a crew member on three Space Shuttle missions.
Henry Warren Hartsfield Jr. was a United States Air Force Colonel and NASA astronaut who logged over 480 hours in space. He was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2006.
David Cornell Leestma is a former American astronaut and retired Captain in the United States Navy.
Charles Frank Bolden Jr. is a former Administrator of NASA,a retired United States Marine Corps Major General,and a former astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions.
Richard Oswalt Covey is a retired United States Air Force officer,former NASA astronaut,and a member of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Robert Donald Cabana is a former Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and retired NASA astronaut,having flown on four Space Shuttle flights. He served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1994 to 1997 and as director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center from 2008 to 2021. He is also a former naval flight officer and naval aviator in the United States Marine Corps.
Frederick Drew Gregory is a former United States Air Force pilot,military engineer,test pilot,and NASA astronaut as well as former NASA Deputy Administrator. He also served briefly as NASA Acting Administrator in early 2005,covering the period between the departure of Sean O'Keefe and the swearing in of Michael D. Griffin.
Ellen Ochoa is an American engineer,former astronaut and former director of the Johnson Space Center. In 1993,Ochoa became the first Latina woman to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. Ochoa became director of the center upon the retirement of the previous director,Michael Coats,on December 31,2012. She was the first Latina director and the second female director of Johnson Space Center.
The administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the highest-ranking official of NASA,the national space agency of the United States. The administrator is NASA's chief decision maker,responsible for providing clarity to the agency's vision and serving as a source of internal leadership within NASA. The office holder also has an important place within United States space policy,and is assisted by a deputy administrator.
Lesa B. Roe is an American aerospace engineer and Former Acting Deputy Administrator of NASA. She served as the Chancellor of the University of North Texas System from 2017 to 2021. Most recently Solid Power Inc. named Lesa Roe to its board of directors. Solid Power develops solid-state rechargeable battery products for government and commercial markets,including aerospace and electric vehicles.
The National Space Council is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States created in 1989 during the George H. W. Bush administration,disbanded in 1993,and reestablished in June 2017 by the Donald Trump administration. It is a modified version of the earlier National Aeronautics and Space Council (1958–1973).
JoAnn Hardin Morgan is an American aerospace engineer who was the first female engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John F. Kennedy Space Center and the first woman to serve as a senior executive at Kennedy Space Center. For her work at NASA,Morgan was honored by U.S. President Bill Clinton as a Meritorious Executive in 1995 and 1998. Prior to her retirement in 2003,she held various leadership positions over 40 years in the human space flight programs at NASA. Morgan served as the director of the External Relations and Business Development during her final years at the space center.
The role of women in and affiliated with NASA has varied over time. As early as 1922 women were working as physicists and in other technical positions.[1] Throughout the 1930s to the present,more women joined the NASA teams not only at Langley Memorial,but at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,the Glenn Research Center,and other numerous NASA sites throughout the United States.[2] As the space program has grown,women have advanced into many roles,including astronauts.
Judith A. Kersey is an American engineer. She was the first woman guidance systems engineer at NASA Kennedy Space Center.
Stephen G. Jurczyk was an American engineer who served as the Acting Administrator of NASA. He previously worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton,Virginia.
