Carrie L. Worth
NASA Pilot
Contents
Carrie L. Worth is a research pilot at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. She joined NASA Armstrong’s flight operations staff in March 2021 and flies the Gulfstream G-III mission support aircraft.
Prior to joining NASA Armstrong, Worth was hired by UPS Airlines in 2018 as a first officer on the Boeing 747-400 and 747-8F aircraft, flying cargo worldwide.
Experience
Worth served as a combat search and rescue pilot and special operations pilot in the U.S. Air Force from 1997 until her retirement in 2018, logging more than 5,800 hours of flight time, including more than 1,100 combat hours. She worked as an instructor pilot, evaluator pilot, and aircraft commander in multiple aircraft, including the C-21A, M/HC-130P, and CN-235. Worth also served in various aircrew and leadership positions at the flight, squadron, and wing levels. She held a joint staff position as chief of Strategy Plans and Policy for Headquarters Special Operations Command Europe from 2011 to 2013 in Stuttgart, Germany. She also served as commander of the 347th Operations Support Squadron (2014-2016) and then as wing inspector general (2016-2018) while assigned to the 23d Wing at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. She was selected for promotion to the rank of colonel before deciding to retire from active duty in August 2018.
Education
Worth earned a Bachelor of Science in space operations in 1997 at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado; a Master of Science in aerospace science in 2006 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (worldwide campus); and a Master of Science in defense analysis (special operations) in 2010 at Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
Personal
She is a member of Women Military Aviators, The Ninety-Nines, Women in Aviation International, Air Commando Association, and the Air Force Association. She co-authored “The Theory of Dark Network Design,” a master’s thesis published in Small Wars Journal.
Worth co-founded the nonprofit organization, The Milieux Project, which connects girls to aviation and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through mentorship, advocacy, and scholarship. The organization produces the “Grow Her Wings” podcast.
Worth splits her time between Anchorage, Alaska, and Palmdale, California, with her husband, Michael Zimmerman (retired USAF), and their two dogs.