Suggested Searches

A portrait of Kennedy Space Center's Albert Sierra.

Albert Sierra

Program Manager, Launch Services Program

Albert Sierra is the program manager for the Launch Services Program (LSP) at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where he is responsible for overseeing NASA’s provision and management of domestic commercial launch services for robotic missions.

Sierra ensures overall mission success through leading, managing, and directing the progress of planning and acquisition of launch services, expendable launch vehicle engineering and analysis, mission integration, launch vehicle production, launch site processing, launch campaigns, and launch. LSP is responsible for launching the nation’s most prized scientific and robotic spacecraft, such as Psyche, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, Mars rover Perseverance, Parker Solar Probe, and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite series. Prior to his current position, he served as the program’s deputy program manager. Sierra has been employed with NASA for 34 years.

Experience

Sierra started his career with NASA in 1990 as a mechanical engineer for the Space Shuttle Program, with responsibility for various mechanical systems on the space shuttle orbiter.

In 1996, his career path transitioned to commercial launch vehicles, and he has worked in this field since then. Sierra had the opportunity to work for a year at NASA Headquarters in the Space Operations Mission Directorate and the Science Mission Directorate, further expanding his knowledge of space science missions, space policy, federal budget processes, and NASA program directives.

From 2008 to 2022, Sierra served as the chief of the Flight Projects Office for the LSP. This office provides mission management of the launch service across NASA’s commercial launch fleet through various contracts. In this position, Sierra interfaced with various NASA centers, programs, and projects that required commercial launch services. He also managed a team of fifteen mission managers supporting over 70 primary and advisory missions in various lifecycle phases and management of the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). During his tenure, the mission managers, under his direction, managed and launched 46 successful NASA’s scientific robotic primary missions and over 140 CSLI CubeSat missions.

In 2016, Sierra led and chaired the Source Evaluation Board for the Expendable Launch Vehicle Integrated Support 3 (ELVIS 3) contract, successfully awarding a support services contract that supplies engineering, analysis, communications/telemetry, and administrative services to LSP.

Sierra previously held various positions within LSP, including Mechanical and Propulsion Branch chief, mission manager, integration engineer, and mechanical and propulsion engineer.

Education

Sierra graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and obtained a Master of Science degree in management in 1994 from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Biography last updated March 2024