Howard Hu
Deputy Manager, Artemis program
Affiliation: NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Howard Hu serves as NASA’s Deputy Manager for the Artemis program within the agency’s Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate. In this role, Hu helps lead the agency’s portfolio of Artemis development programs, shape program strategy, guide mission architecture, and ensure the successful development and execution of Artemis missions in support of the agency’s exploration priorities.
Hu previously served as the Orion Program manager, leading the design, development, production, and operations of Orion, NASA’s next-generation human exploration spacecraft for missions to the Moon. Prior to this, he held several key leadership positions within the Orion Program, including serving as the deputy program manager, manager of the Avionics, Power, and Software Office, and the deputy manager of the Vehicle Integration Office. Hu has been involved with the program since its inception, beginning as Orion’s Vehicle System Performance and Analysis lead.
Prior to joining the Orion Program, Hu held a number of technical and leadership positions at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, including serving as the Chief Engineer for Exploration in the Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division, project manager and co-developer of the Shuttle Abort Flight Management software for the Space Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrades program, and deputy guidance, navigation, and control system manager for the International Space Station.
Throughout his career spanning more than 30 years with NASA, Hu has been recognized with the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, Johnson Director’s Innovation Awards, Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 Outstanding Leadership Award, Artemis II Mission Trophy, University of Washington Aeronautics and Astronautics Distinguished Alumnus Award, and National Space Club Norman L. Baker Astronautics Engineer Award.
Hu earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington.
Last updated October 2026