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 December 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.
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.
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),NASA astronaut and non-flight-eligible management astronaut),and is a veteran of 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.
Sidney McNeill "Sid" Gutierrez,is an American pilot and former NASA astronaut. Since retiring from NASA,Gutierrez has worked in several leadership positions at Sandia National Laboratories and Rocket Crafters Inc.
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.
Kathryn Ryan Cordell Thornton is an American scientist and a former NASA astronaut with over 975 hours in space,including 21 hours of extravehicular activity. She was the associate dean for graduate programs at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science,currently a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
Miguel Rodríguez is the Chief of the Integration Office of the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Management Office.
Joan Elizabeth Higginbotham is an electrical engineer and a former NASA astronaut. She flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-116 as a mission specialist and is the third African American woman to go into space,after Mae Jemison and Stephanie Wilson.
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.
Irene Duhart Long was an American physician and was an official at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. She was the first female chief medical officer at the Kennedy Space Center.
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.
Kurt Heinrich Debus was a German-American rocket engineer and NASA director. Born in Germany,he was a member of the Schutzstaffel (SS) during World War II,where he served as a V-weapons flight test director. Following the war,he was brought to the United States via Operation Paperclip,and directed the design,development,construction and operation of NASA's Saturn launch facilities. He became the first director of NASA's Launch Operations Center,and,under him,NASA conducted 150 launches of military missiles and space vehicles,including 13 launches of the Saturn V rocket as part of the Apollo Moon landing program.
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.
Judith A. Kersey is an American engineer. She was the first woman guidance systems engineer at NASA Kennedy Space Center.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson is an American engineer. Blackwell-Thompson is the launch director for NASA's Exploration Ground Systems Program,based at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC). She oversaw the countdown and liftoff of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft during its first flight test,called Artemis 1.
