John Calvert

John Calvert is a senior mission manager for the Launch Services Program at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Calvert and the Mission Integration Team manage launch services integration and launch vehicle engineering.

Experience

Serving more than 20 years in the Launch Services Program, Calvert has led teams responsible for successfully launching NASA spacecraft to study Earth, the Sun, Jupiter, and Mars. These include the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO)/CloudSat, the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), the Space Tracking and Surveillance System/Advanced Technology Risk Reduction (STSS-ATRR), Juno, Parker Solar Probe, and most recently, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.

Prior to joining the Launch Services Program in 1999, Calvert was assigned to the Joint Performance Management Office and served as a mechanical systems engineer, responsible for facility systems in the areas of heating, ventilating and air conditioning, as well as fire suppression, water distribution and wastewater treatment.

Education

Calvert was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., but grew up in Clearwater, Fla., where he graduated from Countryside High School in 1987. Calvert earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, Fla., in 1992.

While attending USF, Calvert joined the NASA team at Kennedy as a cooperative education student. Calvert went on to receive a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla., in 1996.

Personal

Calvert lives in Merritt Island, Florida, with his wife, Catalina, sons, Timothy and Alex, and two Labrador retrievers. When he’s not working on launch vehicles, Calvert enjoys staying active in the outdoors with bike riding, kayaking, and hiking.

Biography last updated February 2023