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'''Kathryn Lueders''' (pronounced " |
'''Kathryn Lueders''' (pronounced "Looders") is an American engineer and business manager. Lueders has led [[NASA]]'s human spaceflight program as the Associate Administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Berger |first1=Eric |title=NASA's new chief of human spaceflight has a commercial background |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/06/nasas-new-chief-of-human-spaceflight-has-a-commercial-background/ |website=Ars Technica |date=12 June 2020 |publisher=Conde Naste |access-date=12 June 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613104054/https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/06/nasas-new-chief-of-human-spaceflight-has-a-commercial-background/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kathy Lueders Selected to Lead NASA's Human Spaceflight Office |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/kathy-lueders-selected-to-lead-nasa-s-human-spaceflight-office |publisher=NASA |access-date=12 June 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613104056/https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/kathy-lueders-selected-to-lead-nasa-s-human-spaceflight-office/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate |work=NASA |date=29 April 2015 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/about.html |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |archive-date=18 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218020316/https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/about.html |url-status=live |last1=Pline |first1=Alex }}</ref> She became the first woman to head human spaceflight.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NASA names first woman to head human spaceflight - The Jakarta Post|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/amp/life/2020/06/13/nasa-names-first-woman-to-head-human-spaceflight.html|access-date=2020-06-13|website=www.thejakartapost.com|archive-date=2020-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613174113/https://www.thejakartapost.com/amp/life/2020/06/13/nasa-names-first-woman-to-head-human-spaceflight.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She was the program manager for NASA's [[Commercial Crew Development|Commercial Crew Program]] and oversaw the return of human spaceflight capabilities to NASA.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/tb/features/articles/21434|title=Tech Briefs Interview: NASA's Kathy Lueders - Tech Briefs|date=1 February 2015|website=Tech Briefs|language=en|access-date=2018-03-23|archive-date=2018-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406040552/https://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/tb/features/articles/21434|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NASABio>{{cite web |title=Kathryn Lueders, Program Manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/biographies/lueders.html |website=Kennedy Biographies |publisher=NASA |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=April 2014 |archive-date=23 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323164012/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/biographies/lueders.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> She currently works at [[SpaceX]] as [[SpaceX Starbase|Starbase]] General Manager.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Steve |date=2023-12-13 |title=Starbase general manager discusses future plans at invite-only Brownsville event |url=https://myrgv.com/local-news/2023/12/12/starbase-general-manager-discusses-future-plans-at-invite-only-brownsville-event/ |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=MyRGV.com |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-12-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217170855/https://myrgv.com/local-news/2023/12/12/starbase-general-manager-discusses-future-plans-at-invite-only-brownsville-event/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Early life== |
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Lueders grew up in Japan. Her family was living in Tokyo when the 1969 [[Apollo 11]] Moon landing occurred. She remembers her dad waking the whole family up for the event. She read [[Isaac Asimov]] while growing up.<ref name="First Steps">{{cite web |title=Ep 102: The Next First Steps |url=https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/the-next-first-steps |website=Houston We Have a Podcast |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=26 July 2019 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010003934/https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/the-next-first-steps/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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In her undergraduate degree Lueders studied business, as she originally had aspirations to work on [[Wall Street]]. During her senior year, however, she wanted to switch to [[engineering]] after seeing her roommate study it.<ref name="The 19th">{{cite web |author1=Chabeli Carrazana |title=The future of space is female |url=https://19thnews.org/2020/09/the-future-of-space-is-female/ |publisher=The 19th |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=23 September 2020}}</ref> She became "interested in engineering because it gave me the tools to solve problems and work on something bigger."<ref name = "NMSU">{{cite web |title=First woman to lead NASA spaceflight encourages STEM exploration |url=https://panorama.nmsu.edu/tag/alumni-connections/ |website=Panorama |publisher=[[New Mexico State University]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=16 November 2020 |
In her undergraduate degree Lueders studied business, as she originally had aspirations to work on [[Wall Street]]. During her senior year, however, she wanted to switch to [[engineering]] after seeing her roommate study it.<ref name="The 19th">{{cite web |author1=Chabeli Carrazana |title=The future of space is female |url=https://19thnews.org/2020/09/the-future-of-space-is-female/ |publisher=The 19th |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213044756/https://19thnews.org/2020/09/the-future-of-space-is-female/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She became "interested in engineering because it gave me the tools to solve problems and work on something bigger."<ref name = "NMSU">{{cite web |title=First woman to lead NASA spaceflight encourages STEM exploration |url=https://panorama.nmsu.edu/tag/alumni-connections/ |website=Panorama |publisher=[[New Mexico State University]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125144111/https://panorama.nmsu.edu/tag/alumni-connections/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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⚫ | Lueders earned her bachelor's degree of [[Business administration|Business Administration]] in finance from the [[University of New Mexico]] in 1986.<ref>{{cite web |title=University of New Mexico Board of Regents Minutes for May 14, 1987 |url=https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1854&context=bor_minutes |website=UNM’s Digital Repository |publisher=University of New Mexico |access-date=21 February 2021 |archive-date=28 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928160304/https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1854&context=bor_minutes |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=IAFASTRO>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iafastro.org/biographie/kathryn-l-lueders/|title=Kathryn L. Lueders|website=International Astronautical Federation|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-04-05|archive-date=2018-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030162641/http://www.iafastro.org/biographie/kathryn-l-lueders/|url-status=live}}</ref> She also has a Bachelor of Science (1993) and Master of Science (1999) in [[industrial engineering]] from [[New Mexico State University]].<ref name="NMSU"/><ref name=IAFASTRO/> |
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== Education == |
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⚫ | Lueders earned her bachelor's degree of [[Business administration|Business Administration]] in finance from the [[University of New Mexico]] in 1986.<ref>{{cite web |title=University of New Mexico Board of Regents Minutes for May 14, 1987 |url=https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1854&context=bor_minutes |website=UNM’s Digital Repository |publisher=University of New Mexico |access-date=21 February 2021}}</ref><ref name= |
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==Career== |
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===NASA=== |
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Lueders began her [[NASA]] career as a co-op in 1992<ref name= |
Lueders began her [[NASA]] career as a co-op in 1992<ref name=FloridaToday>{{Cite news|url=https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2014/04/21/nasa-names-mango-replacement-lead-commercial-crew-program/7960563/|title=NASA names new Commercial Crew Program chief, replaces Mango|last=Dean|first=James|date=21 April 2014|work=Florida Today|access-date=2018-04-05|language=en|archive-date=2018-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714154259/https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2014/04/21/nasa-names-mango-replacement-lead-commercial-crew-program/7960563/|url-status=live}}</ref> in the safety and mission assurance office as a quality engineer at the [[White Sands Test Facility]] while still a student at New Mexico State.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kathy Lueders, In Her Own Words |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2014/04/21/kathy-lueders-in-her-own-words/ |website=Commercial Crew Program |publisher=NASA |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=21 April 2014 |archive-date=20 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320172738/https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2014/04/21/kathy-lueders-in-her-own-words/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As only the second woman to work at the facility,<ref name=Vogue>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vogue.com/projects/13528185/american-women-nasa-kennedy-space-center-female-nasa-programmers-employees/|title=What the Women at NASA Have Planned for the 2030s|last=Bendiksen|first=Robert Sullivan, Jonas|work=Vogue|access-date=2018-03-23|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-04-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429211254/https://www.vogue.com/projects/13528185/american-women-nasa-kennedy-space-center-female-nasa-programmers-employees/|url-status=live}}</ref> after graduation Lueders started as the depot manager of the [[Space Shuttle program]] [[Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System|Orbital Maneuvering System]] and [[Reaction control system|Reaction Control Systems]]. She was the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Integration manager.<ref name=NASABio/> She has also held several managerial positions within the [[International Space Station]] Program Office at [[Johnson Space Center|NASA Johnson Space Center]] in [[Houston]], [[Texas]].<ref name=FloridaToday/> |
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She also managed the commercial [[cargo resupply services]] (CRS) to the space station and was responsible for NASA's oversight of international partner spacecraft visiting the space station, including the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle, and the Russian space agency Roscosmos' Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. She went to [[Kennedy Space Center]] as the acting [[Commercial Crew]] (CCP) Program Manager in 2013, and was selected as the head of the office in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=NASA Selects Commercial Crew Program Manager |url=https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-selects-commercial-crew-program-manager/ |website=Exploration: Beyond Earth |publisher=NASA |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=21 April 2014}}</ref> As this was NASA's first venture into commercial human spaceflight, Lueders brought her knowledge and experience from CRS to the formation and management of CCP.<ref>{{cite web |title=Episode 49: Launch America |url=https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/launch-america |website=Houston, We Have a Podcast |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=15 June 2018}}</ref> |
She also managed the commercial [[cargo resupply services]] (CRS) to the space station and was responsible for NASA's oversight of international partner spacecraft visiting the space station, including the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle, and the Russian space agency Roscosmos' Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. She went to [[Kennedy Space Center]] as the acting [[Commercial Crew]] (CCP) Program Manager in 2013, and was selected as the head of the office in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=NASA Selects Commercial Crew Program Manager |url=https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-selects-commercial-crew-program-manager/ |website=Exploration: Beyond Earth |publisher=NASA |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=21 April 2014 |archive-date=8 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208114956/https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-selects-commercial-crew-program-manager/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As this was NASA's first venture into commercial human spaceflight, Lueders brought her knowledge and experience from CRS to the formation and management of CCP.<ref>{{cite web |title=Episode 49: Launch America |url=https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/launch-america |website=Houston, We Have a Podcast |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=15 June 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303024343/https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/launch-america/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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[[File:SpaceX Demo-2 Hatch Opening (NHQ202005310018).jpg|thumb|400px|Kathy Lueders after SpaceX Demo-2 Hatch Opening to the ISS]] |
[[File:SpaceX Demo-2 Hatch Opening (NHQ202005310018).jpg|thumb|400px|Kathy Lueders after SpaceX Demo-2 Hatch Opening to the ISS]] |
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Lueders managed a NASA team working with [[SpaceX]] and [[Boeing]] teams concurrently over seven years. She was the CCP manager when SpaceX launched the [[Crew Dragon Demo-2]] mission on May 30, 2020, the first human launch from U.S. soil since the retirement of the [[Space Shuttle]] in July 2011.<ref>{{cite web |author1=James Cawley |title=NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 'Go' for Liftoff Wednesday After Today's Launch Readiness Review |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2020/05/25/nasas-spacex-demo-2-go-for-liftoff-wednesday-after-todays-launch-readiness-review/ |website=Commercial Crew Program Blog |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526124157/https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2020/05/25/nasas-spacex-demo-2-go-for-liftoff-wednesday-after-todays-launch-readiness-review/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kathy Lueders Selected to Lead NASA's Human Spaceflight Office |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/kathy-lueders-selected-to-lead-nasa-s-human-spaceflight-office |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=24 June 2020 |archive-date=9 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009224306/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/kathy-lueders-selected-to-lead-nasa-s-human-spaceflight-office/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After the launch, she said "I am so grateful and proud of our NASA and SpaceX team."<ref>{{cite web |title=NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 Launch: 'A Great Day for America' |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2020/05/30/nasas-spacex-demo-2-launch-a-great-day-for-america/ |website=Commercial Crew Program Blog |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=30 May 2020 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227221145/https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2020/05/30/nasas-spacex-demo-2-launch-a-great-day-for-america/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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On June 12, 2020, NASA Administrator [[Jim Bridenstine]] announced Lueders has been appointed the agency's new associate administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate.<ref name="HEO AA Selection">{{cite web |title=Kathy Lueders Selected to Lead NASA's Human Spaceflight Office |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/kathy-lueders-selected-to-lead-nasa-s-human-spaceflight-office |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=12 June 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613104056/https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/kathy-lueders-selected-to-lead-nasa-s-human-spaceflight-office/ |url-status=live }}</ref> While considering whether or not to take the position, her husband pointed out she'd be the first woman in the position.<ref name="The 19th" /> |
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⚫ | Lueders indicates, "Together, we are solving problems every day and it's one of my favorite aspects of the job." She was drawn to her jobs at NASA for the challenging problems the industry presents and not because she was a "space geek."<ref name = "NMSU"/> She says "exploration is a team sport" and advocates working together with and giving space to all willing partners while discussing the [[Artemis program]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Kathy Lueders |title=Exploration is a team sport |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2020/07/06/exploration-is-a-team-sport/ |website=Artemis Blog |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=6 July 2020 |archive-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302233849/https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2020/07/06/exploration-is-a-team-sport/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Kathy Lueders |title=Eyes Forward as Artemis Missions Set to Begin Next Year |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/tag/kathy-lueders/ |website=Artemis Blog |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=26 August 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225204146/https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/tag/kathy-lueders/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She appreciates that being with NASA enables her to operate in a world community with other space-faring nations peacefully.<ref name="First Steps" /> |
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On June 12, 2020, NASA Administrator [[Jim Bridenstine]] announced Kathy Lueders to be the agency's new associate administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate.<ref name="HEO AA Selection">{{cite web |title=Kathy Lueders Selected to Lead NASA's Human Spaceflight Office |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/kathy-lueders-selected-to-lead-nasa-s-human-spaceflight-office |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=21 February 2021 |date=12 June 2020}}</ref> While considering whether or not to take the position, her husband pointed out she'd be the first woman in the position.<ref name="The 19th" /> |
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⚫ | In late March 2023 Lueders announced she would retire from NASA in April 2023.<ref name=N-retire>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/changes-ahead-as-nasa-s-human-spaceflight-head-plans-retirement |title=''Changes Ahead as NASA's Human Spaceflight Head Plans Retirement'' 30 Mar 2023 |access-date=24 February 2024 |archive-date=3 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603035058/https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/changes-ahead-as-nasa-s-human-spaceflight-head-plans-retirement/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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⚫ | Lueders indicates "Together, we are solving problems every day and it's one of my favorite aspects of the job." She was drawn to her jobs at NASA for the challenging problems the industry presents and not because she was a "space geek."<ref name = "NMSU" |
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⚫ | On May 15, 2023, a couple of weeks after retiring from NASA, it was reported that Lueders would join SpaceX as a general manager working on the [[SpaceX Starship|Starship program]] at [[SpaceX Starbase|Starbase]]. She reports directly to SpaceX president and COO [[Gwynne Shotwell]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Sheetz |first=Michael |title=SpaceX hires former NASA human spaceflight official Kathy Lueders to help with Starship |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/15/elon-musks-spacex-hires-former-nasa-official-kathy-lueders.html |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=CNBC |date=15 May 2023 |language=en |archive-date=2023-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515161846/https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/15/elon-musks-spacex-hires-former-nasa-official-kathy-lueders.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
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After getting married and having two children, Lueders returned to college to study engineering.<ref name=Vogue/> |
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⚫ | On May 15, 2023, a couple of weeks after retiring from NASA, it was reported that Lueders would join SpaceX as a general manager working on the [[SpaceX Starship|Starship program]] at [[SpaceX Starbase|Starbase]]. She reports directly to SpaceX president and COO [[Gwynne Shotwell]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Sheetz |first=Michael |title=SpaceX hires former NASA human spaceflight official Kathy Lueders to help with Starship |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/15/elon-musks-spacex-hires-former-nasa-official-kathy-lueders.html |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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[[Category:New Mexico State University alumni]] |
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[[Category:University of New Mexico alumni]] |
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[[Category:21st-century women engineers]] |
[[Category:21st-century American women engineers]] |
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[[Category:SpaceX people]] |
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Latest revision as of 05:52, 6 January 2025
Kathryn Lueders | |
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Nationality | American |
Education | B.S. Business Administration in Finance B.S. and M.S. Industrial engineering |
Alma mater | |
Employer | SpaceX |
Title | General manager at Starbase |
Kathryn Lueders (pronounced "Looders") is an American engineer and business manager. Lueders has led NASA's human spaceflight program as the Associate Administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate.[1][2][3] She became the first woman to head human spaceflight.[4] She was the program manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program and oversaw the return of human spaceflight capabilities to NASA.[5][6] She currently works at SpaceX as Starbase General Manager.[7]
Early life
[edit]Lueders grew up in Japan. Her family was living in Tokyo when the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing occurred. She remembers her dad waking the whole family up for the event. She read Isaac Asimov while growing up.[8]
In her undergraduate degree Lueders studied business, as she originally had aspirations to work on Wall Street. During her senior year, however, she wanted to switch to engineering after seeing her roommate study it.[9] She became "interested in engineering because it gave me the tools to solve problems and work on something bigger."[10]
Lueders earned her bachelor's degree of Business Administration in finance from the University of New Mexico in 1986.[11][12] She also has a Bachelor of Science (1993) and Master of Science (1999) in industrial engineering from New Mexico State University.[10][12]
Career
[edit]NASA
[edit]Lueders began her NASA career as a co-op in 1992[13] in the safety and mission assurance office as a quality engineer at the White Sands Test Facility while still a student at New Mexico State.[14] As only the second woman to work at the facility,[15] after graduation Lueders started as the depot manager of the Space Shuttle program Orbital Maneuvering System and Reaction Control Systems. She was the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Integration manager.[6] She has also held several managerial positions within the International Space Station Program Office at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.[13]
She also managed the commercial cargo resupply services (CRS) to the space station and was responsible for NASA's oversight of international partner spacecraft visiting the space station, including the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle, and the Russian space agency Roscosmos' Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. She went to Kennedy Space Center as the acting Commercial Crew (CCP) Program Manager in 2013, and was selected as the head of the office in 2014.[16] As this was NASA's first venture into commercial human spaceflight, Lueders brought her knowledge and experience from CRS to the formation and management of CCP.[17]
Lueders managed a NASA team working with SpaceX and Boeing teams concurrently over seven years. She was the CCP manager when SpaceX launched the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission on May 30, 2020, the first human launch from U.S. soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in July 2011.[18][19] After the launch, she said "I am so grateful and proud of our NASA and SpaceX team."[20]
On June 12, 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Lueders has been appointed the agency's new associate administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate.[21] While considering whether or not to take the position, her husband pointed out she'd be the first woman in the position.[9]
Lueders indicates, "Together, we are solving problems every day and it's one of my favorite aspects of the job." She was drawn to her jobs at NASA for the challenging problems the industry presents and not because she was a "space geek."[10] She says "exploration is a team sport" and advocates working together with and giving space to all willing partners while discussing the Artemis program.[22][23] She appreciates that being with NASA enables her to operate in a world community with other space-faring nations peacefully.[8]
In late March 2023 Lueders announced she would retire from NASA in April 2023.[24]
SpaceX
[edit]On May 15, 2023, a couple of weeks after retiring from NASA, it was reported that Lueders would join SpaceX as a general manager working on the Starship program at Starbase. She reports directly to SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell.[25]
Personal life
[edit]After getting married and having two children, Lueders returned to college to study engineering.[15]
External links
[edit]- Kennedy Biographies - Kathryn Lueders Archived 2018-03-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Kathy Lueders on Twitter
References
[edit]- ^ Berger, Eric (12 June 2020). "NASA's new chief of human spaceflight has a commercial background". Ars Technica. Conde Naste. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "Kathy Lueders Selected to Lead NASA's Human Spaceflight Office". NASA. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ Pline, Alex (29 April 2015). "About the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate". NASA. NASA. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "NASA names first woman to head human spaceflight - The Jakarta Post". www.thejakartapost.com. Archived from the original on 2020-06-13. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
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{{cite news}}
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